Joe Flacco to serve as Lamar Jackson's backup for Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are now officially Lamar Jackson's team.

Even with incumbent starting quarterback Joe Flacco healthy after missing four games with a hip injury, Jackson – the No. 32 overall selection in April's draft – will start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Joe is fully healthy, ready to go, he’ll be a full participant in practice, he’ll be up for the game,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday in his press conference. “But the starting quarterback will be Lamar. Joe will be the No. 2 quarterback, and Robert Griffin will be the backup to those two guys. We’ll proceed with our game planning and play the game.”

Jackson has started each of those last four games, helping lead the Ravens to victories in three of them. The lone defeat came last week on the road against the AFC’s current top seed, the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24.

Jackson’s athleticism and running ability have forced opposing defenses to prepare for a completely different offense than when Flacco – a traditional pocket passer – led Baltimore. Even though Jackson has scored five total touchdowns and has committed five turnovers in his four games as a starter, Baltimore is averaging 228.5 rushing yards per contest in that span.

“Every decision is based on what makes us the strongest possible team we can be,” Harbaugh said. “Whether it’s quarterback or defensive line, that’s the bottom line. That’s what it boils down to. That’s how we feel about this decision and we’re rolling.”

Before going on a three-game winning streak in Jackson’s first three starts, the Ravens (7-6) had lost four of five with Flacco as the starter.

Flacco, who won Super Bowl MVP honors when he delivered a championship to Baltimore in Super Bowl XLVII, could be playing his last few games with the team. Though he’s under contract through the 2021 season, the Ravens can either release him at the end of the year to create $10.5 million in salary cap space, or $18.5 million if they designate him as a post-June 1 cut.

“Obviously I’m disappointed that I can’t be a part of this team in the same capacity that I have been for a long time, but you’ve always got to be ready, and stay sharp, and be ready for the call at any point,” Flacco said.

Jackson has completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 687 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions and has run the ball 95 times for 475 yards with three rushing scores.

When asked whether the move to start Jackson would be reassessed on a week-to-week basis, Harbaugh would not commit one way or the other.

“I don’t expect anything besides Sunday and that’s what we’re focused on,” Harbaugh said. “But I’ll say this, Lamar Jackson is the starting quarterback.”

Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.