As if the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens game could not get any more thrilling on Monday night, viewers learn that Ravens QB Lamar Jackson left the field while the Browns offense was on the field.
The mystery continued when he did not return and his backup Trace McSorley entered the game on the next Baltimore possession.
Cramps was the reason reported for Jackson’s absence.
Of course, for Ravens fans, the storied ending including Jackson running out of the tunnel as an injured McSorley leaves the field with 2 minutes left in the game.
"And here comes Lamar Jackson!"
A moment we'll all remember. 😈 pic.twitter.com/q3HLI9U3Hg
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 15, 2020
He led his team to victory, but that didn’t stop people from wondering about the trip to the locker room.
What People Thought
Social media lit up like a Christmas tree with theories and speculation.
Many thought Jackson needed a bathroom break including his backup now on IR, Robert Griffin III.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/JFatUvzlsh
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 15, 2020
Thankfully, Lamar Jackson decided to end the speculation by telling us what really happened.
The Locker Room Trip According To Lamar Jackson
In the postgame press conference, Jackson said:
“Nah, I was cramping. I didn’t pull a Paul Pierce, I was cramping.”
"I didn't pull a Paul Pierce. I was cramping." @Lj_era8
🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/8rvfAY3BFW
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 15, 2020
He went on to explain that his throwing arm was cramping up.
Jackson went into the locker room to get stretched out and receive IV fluids.
This is not hard to believe given that he is only a week or so removed from having COVID-19, and he was very busy running all over the Browns in the first half of the game.
The Paul Pierce Analogy
In Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Boston Celtic Paul Pierce was hauled off the court in a wheelchair with an apparent knee injury.
He later returned to the game and made key three pointers that led his team to the win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was widely speculated that Pierce had to go to the bathroom.
Pierce appeared to both corroborate and dispute that story over the years.
Paul Pierce on getting taken off the court in a wheelchair 11 years ago: "I have a confession to make: I just had to go to the bathroom." https://t.co/nKTFXnHnZU
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) June 6, 2019
Of course, the Lamar Jackson-Paul Pierce saga could not end here.
Someone had to ask Paul Pierce his take on the Lamar Jackson locker room trip.
And he set absolutely nothing straight with his comment.
“That’s B.S. He went to the back and found out his injury wasn’t as bad as he thought just like I did. I don’t know where this came from that I had to go to the bathroom.”
If this legendary locker room trip saga goes on as long as Paul Pierce’s has, we have only just begun to hear about it.
NEXT: John Harbaugh Had Interesting Postgame Exchange With Kevin Stefanski
