Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has accomplished many feats since entering the NFL as the last pick in the first round of the 2018 draft.
The former unanimous MVP has already established himself as one of the best rushing quarterbacks of all time, and against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12 on Sunday Football, he could become just the fourth-ever quarterback to reach 5,000 career rushing yards, joining Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson.
Jackson needs 28 rushing yards against the Chargers to cross the career milestone. Jackson was asked if joining the quarterbacks mentioned above would have any significance to him.
“I’m in line with the greats, so that’s pretty cool,” Jackson said. “No doubt. I’m cool with that, that’s nice.”
Jackson will have surpassed 5,000 rushing yards in the fewest games ever for a quarterback, as it took over 100 games for Vick, Newton, and Wilson, while this Sunday will be Jackson’s 82nd career game.
Despite talks of Jackson running less under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, the sixth-year quarterback is still second on the team in rushing yards with 535, just 29 yards behind running back Gus Edwards for the season. He also has five touchdowns on the ground, second to Edwards’ 10. Jackson leads the next-highest quarterback, Joshua Dobbs, by 146 rushing yards.
While concerns of injury are always present for a quarterback who runs as much as Jackson does, he has shown a knack for avoiding big hits as a runner, with his last two season-ending injuries occurring as a passer. It would be foolish to strip Jackson of such a significant part of his game and something that has made him one of the most demanding players to defend in the entire NFL.
