The Baltimore Ravens released their first depth chart of the summer a week ahead of their first preseason game, and you might be surprised to learn Robert Griffin III is listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Joe Flacco, while first-round rookie Lamar Jackson is the third-stringer.
Given all the hype surrounding Jackson this offseason, perpetuated by none other than head coach John Harbaugh (he couldn’t stop talking about how the Ravens will figure out how to use Jackson) and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg (who said Jackson is “way ahead of the curve”), this really is kind of stunning.
Maybe the Ravens are simply playing it safe here. Maybe they want Jackson to prove to his teammates that he’s definitively better than RG3. Maybe Jackson really just not as far along as we’ve been led to believe.
Or maybe Griffin really is the story here. Maybe he’s the guy Flacco should be worried about, rather than Jackson.
Whatever the case, we’ll soon find out just how the quarterbacks stack up. The team’s first preseason game against the Chicago Bears should give us a clue about how the Ravens really feel about both quarterbacks.