North Notes: Ravens, Flacco, Lions, Bengals

Lamar Jackson will likely start at least one more game for the Ravens, as Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that Joe Flacco will be hard-pressed to return from injury in Week 12, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (Twitter link). Flacco has been dealing with a hip issue since Week 9, and while he’s not expected to require surgery, the veteran signal-caller did see a specialist in New York last week. Further complicating matters is Jackson’s performance in Sunday’s win over the Bengals, which vaulted Baltimore back into wild card contention. Jackson, the 32nd overall selection in this year’s draft, attempted only 19 passes against Cincinnati, but rushed 27 times for 117 yards in a 24-21 victory. Harbaugh and the rest of the Ravens’ decision-makers could opt to roll with Jackson as the club finishes out the season against the Raiders, Falcons, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Chargers, and Browns.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

• Although he’ll undergo an MRI before getting any official diagnosis, Lions running back Kerryon Johnson isn’t believed to have torn his ACL on Sunday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Instead, Johnson is believed to have suffered a knee sprain. While a sprain wouldn’t knock Johnson out for the remainder of the season, it could put his availability for Week 12 in serious doubt. That’s especially true given that Detroit is facing a short turnaround, as they’ll face the Bears in a Thanksgiving Day matchup. Johnson has managed 5.4 yards per carry on 118 attempts so far during his rookie season, and also ranks seventh in Football Outsiders’ success rate, meaning he’s effective at keeping the Lions’ offense on schedule. If Johnson is out on Thursday, Detroit would use a committee of LeGarrette Blount, Theo Riddick, and Zach Zenner.
• The Bengals are paying former Browns head coach Hue Jackson $250K while he serves as a special assistant to head coach Marvin Lewis for the rest of the season, per Rapoport (Twitter link). However, Jackson had offset language in his contract with Cleveland, so Cincinnati will essentially get his services at no cost, while the Browns will see their bill lessened. Jackson is expected to focus on the defensive side of the ball in Cincinnati, and reports on Sunday indicated he could even take over defensive play-calling later this year.
• In case you missed it, the Bengals are expected to see the return of receiver A.J. Green in Week 12. Green suffered a toe injury against the Buccaneers in Week 8 and hasn’t played since.