Ravens HC John Harbaugh offers explanation for potential rule violation

The NFL is investigating the Baltimore Ravens over the way they handled their injury report ahead of Week 8, but head coach John Harbaugh insists the team did not knowingly violate any rules.

The Ravens could be subject to NFL discipline after they listed Lamar Jackson, who did not play in Sunday's 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears, as a full participant in Friday's practice. Jackson was listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday before being initially upgraded to a full participant in Friday’s session, which made it seem like he was going to play against Chicago.

On Saturday, the Ravens retroactively downgraded Jackson to limited in Friday's practice and then ruled him out for Week 8. That led to questions about whether Baltimore intentionally tried to deceive the Bears and then thought better of it.

John Harbaugh says the Ravens made an honest mistake

Jackson did participate in practice on Friday, but his only reps came with the scout team. Harbaugh failed to mention that when he described Jackson as having a "full practice" while speaking with reporters afterward. Still, the coach insists there was no intent.

Following the Ravens' win on Sunday, Harbaugh said the Jackson injury report situation was an "honest mistake."

"It really is an honest mistake," Harbaugh said, via ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "I can tell you this: Nobody's trying to hide anything. There's no advantage to be gained with that."

Harbaugh said he was not personally involved in the injury designation and that Baltimore's trainers and public relations staff made an unintentional blunder.

"I think, in their defense, he practiced a full practice," Harbaugh said. "I think they felt like, because he did the same number of reps [as he usually does], it was a full practice. But when you dig in and you read the rule, at the end of the day, it wasn't right. So, that's what it was. That's why, as soon as we found out, we changed it."

The Ravens could be punished by the NFL

The NFL's injury policy clearly states that a player who usually starts must be considered a limited practice participant if that player only takes reps with the scout team. That is true "no matter how extensive" the player's participation with the scout team was.

Teams are subject to fines or the potential loss of draft picks if injury report rules are found to have been violated. While the latter seems unlikely, it is possible that the NFL will fine the Ravens in order to send a message to the rest of the league.