sport news Lamar Jackson says he was injured for the Ravens' playoff loss amid contract ... trends now

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Lamar Jackson has defended his absence in the Ravens' first-round playoff loss last year, saying it would have been 'selfish' to play injured as his contract saga now drags on.

Jackson sprained his knee on December 4 and was initially predicted to miss two or three weeks, but wound up missing six as Baltimore was ousted by the Bengals 24-17 in the wild card round.

The quarterback was criticized in some corners for not playing through the pain - including by Michael Vick - and left some wondering if his postseason absence was because he hadn't gotten the long-term contract he'd wanted yet.

With Jackson - who was placed on the non-exclusive tag earlier this month - still looking for that deal, he took to Twitter Tuesday to defend his reputation.

 'I don't remember me sitting out on my guys week 1 vs jets To week 12 vs Broncos,' he said. 'How come all of a sudden I sit out because of money in which I could've got hurt at anytime within that time frame when we know the Super Bowl been on my mind since April 2018.'