NFL Monday Medical Report Recap: Ravens Lose Jackson, Surtain Suffers Ankle Injury

We’re now four weeks into the NFL season, and as with every other season, the injuries are inevitably piling up. It’s the unfortunate side to the game, and there were some tough blows dealt to a few teams across the NFL this week.

The Chiefs lost receiver Tyquan Thornton, who had scored two touchdowns against the Las Vegas Raiders, to a season-ending injury, while Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, and Ja’Marr Chase all exited their respective games with injuries. The star power felt the strain in Week 4. Let’s look at the damage. 

QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens may have won the battle on Sunday, defeating the Tennessee Titans 24-18, but could they’ve lost the war? Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is no stranger to being banged up; he missed four games in 2025, but there’s now moderate concern after he exited the game on Sunday with an ankle injury. Jackson started the game hot, completing 15-of-20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but appeared to have rolled his ankle when Titans’ edge Jermaine Johnson sacked him on the final offensive play of the first half. 

Jackson wouldn’t return for the second half, with Tyler Huntley stepping in to help carry the team across the line. The Ravens would manage the win—just. They failed to score another point in the second half while the Titans slowly fought their way back into the game. Jackson was reportedly seen in a walking boot after the game, with the team describing it as an ankle injury, with more tests to be done on Monday. For now, though, he is considered day-to-day. And that’s something the optimists and pessimists can battle over.

The reality is, hearts are going to be in mouths until those results come back. Nearly every team in the NFL faces a major drop-off in quality from starter to backup quarterback, but Jackson is an elite quarterback. The Ravens need him to be at their best; that much is certain. The offense survived in the second half in Week 4, but they won’t be playing the Titans’ defense every week. Could Huntley realistically steer the ship if Jackson were to miss any time? The Ravens will be hoping it’s a question they don’t have to answer in 2026. Losing Jackson for an extended period would be devastating, but the early signs are that it’s unlikely. 

WR Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Despite being known for their potential offensive firepower, the Cincinnati Bengals have been riding the wave of their much-improved defense in 2026. However, that wasn’t enough in Week 4, as the Bengals lost 22-17 at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, moving them to 2-2 on the season. The offense had its moments, and the passing game had a 51.8% success rate, per Sumer Sports, but was dealt a major blow when All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was tackled high early in the game. Chase was evaluated for a concussion and was promptly ruled out for the rest of the game, and now he’ll be placed in concussion protocol. 

Heading into the game, Chase was starting to heat up, catching 16 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in Weeks 2 and 3 after a two-catch performance in Week 1. The strength of the Bengals’ passing game is that they’re blessed with quality. Chase and his running mate, Tee Higgins, are arguably the best wide receiver duo in the league; Chase Brown can create havoc out of the backfield, and Joe Burrow is comfortably a top-10 quarterback in his own right. But Chase, at his best, is an otherworldly talent and capable of doing things no other receiver in the league can do when the ball is in his hands. 

With Chase ruled out, Higgins naturally became Burrow’s central figure, catching 11 passes for 157 yards, but undrafted free agent Dohnte Meyers also had the most productive game of his young career, with seven receptions for 82 yards. Thankfully, if there’s any game where the Bengals could be without Chase, it’s against the Dolphins in Week 5. After that, the team has a Week 6 bye, giving Chase two weeks of rest and recuperation if that’s the route that needs to be taken. 

RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense has a problem. To clarify, it’s facing a number of problems right now, which, in turn, is making life harder for the unit as a whole. The Eagles had the worst third-down performance in franchise history in Week 4, converting zero of their 12 third-down attempts. Not having Saquon Barkley, who was ruled out of the game early on after suffering a hamstring injury, made it even tougher. Barkley had just two carries for eight yards in the 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Despite being known for their ability to effectively run the ball, the Eagles have struggled to move the ball on the ground in 2026. They’re 22nd in rushing success rate, per Sumer Sports, through the first four weeks of the season, and the lack of consistency in the passing game is clearly impacting the Eagles’ ability to run the ball. It got harder without Barkley. Tank Bigsby averaged just 3.9 yards per carry behind an offensive line that was already missing All-Pro left tackle Lane Johnson, and the Eagles finished with a 37% rushing success rate in the game without Barkley.

Barkley had started the 2026 season well, rushing for 80-plus yards in two of his first three games, but is yet to score a touchdown and has dealt with multiple injuries in the first month of the season. Given the current state of the Eagles’ offense, they can’t afford to lose Barkley. The good news is, they might not have to. Barkley was seen walking “perfectly normal” after the loss, and while that’s not ruling out any concerns, it does point to the idea he might be okay.

LB Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers

While the general prognosis for Barkley, Jackson, and Chase could be hopeful, the Green Bay Packers have received some devastating news that linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is believed to have torn his Achilles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 and, if that’s the case, he’s out for the rest of the season. Cooper went down after a non-contact injury and showed the telltale sign of an Achilles injury: looking back to see if he had been stamped on before being carted off.

That’s a major loss for a Packers team that is struggling to find its footing in 2026. Cooper had started the season well, producing 21 tackles and two sacks over the first three games of the season—and he was proving to be a major force against the Buccaneers with four tackles, a sack, and an interception. The Packers would go on to win the game 17-14, a slog against a team with a quarterback making his first career start, but the injuries are piling up.

With Cooper out for the rest of the season, the Packers have questions to be answered. They play out of nickel on 70.8% of their defense snaps, with Cooper more often than not on the field. Will the Packers continue to run the same amount of nickel without Cooper? If they do, will we see more Isaiah McDuffie or Ty’Ron Hopper, both of whom would struggle to replicate what Cooper can do on the field, especially in pass coverage? If not, could a shift to dime personnel be on the cards? Changes will have to be made in some capacity. The Packers are struggling to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, and when they did on defense, Cooper was usually around the ball.

CB Pat Surtain, Denver Broncos

While the Packers weren’t so lucky with injury news surrounding a defensive star, the Broncos may have survived a scare. Star cornerback and former Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain limped off in the second quarter after suffering a non-contact injury to his ankle, and from then on, Broncos fans must have been preparing themselves for the worst. Surtain has been the Broncos’ best player for several years now and is widely considered one of, if not the, best cornerback in the NFL.

Surtain has been targeted just 18 times on 138 coverage snaps, allowing just nine receptions for 100 yards. He also has 21 tackles on the season. Teams rarely go after Surtain in coverage, and wisely so. He can do it all as a cornerback; drop off into zone coverage, play press-man, or help out as a run defender. Losing him would significantly alter the Broncos’ abilities and plans on defense. Especially when you consider that their other starting cornerback, Riley Moss, left the loss against the 49ers with a rib injury.

Losing Surtain and Moss, at least for some time, means the Broncos have to really lean into their depth at cornerback. We’ll see more of their 2025 first-round pick, Jahdae Barron, who has a real opportunity to step up, and Kris Draine-Abrams, a 2024 fifth-round pick. It’s not ideal, but the Broncos have an immensely talented defense that has the horses to pick up the pieces without Surtain. The good news is that they likely won’t be without him for too long. Though any amount of time is too much time.

Photo Credit: REUTERS