Baltimore Ravens make trade for quarterback after Lamar Jackson injury - USA Today
Help is on the way for the quarterback-deficient Baltimore Ravens.
The team is trading for journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was demoted to third-string earlier this week by the Arizona Cardinals after losing the QB1 job there to fellow longtime backup Gardner Minshew II.
But the Ravens, who plan to start undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano on Thursday night against the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars, were in desperate need of experience after Lamar Jackson, who was playing for the first time in a month, injured the thumb on his throwing hand Sunday in Buffalo. He will have surgery and may not play again this season.
Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley suffered a turf toe injury in relief of Jackson and had to give way to Fagnano, whose regular-season debut ended with a 36-10 loss to the Bills. Huntley has since been ruled out for the season.
Neither the Ravens nor Cardinals have announced the apparently pending deal. According to ESPN and NFL Network, the Brissett swap will not be completed until this weekend, when compensation for Arizona will be set.
Though Baltimore fell to 4-4 with Sunday's defeat and into last place in the AFC North, the Ravens clearly are not willing to give up on their season. That's effectively what they would have done without the trade for Brissett given the other QB options on the roster besides Fagnano are recently signed Kedon Slovis and Austin Reed β and none of them have started a regular-season game in the NFL.
Brissett, a third-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2016, has started 73 times, including eight for Arizona this year. His record is an uninspiring 23-50, but he's rarely played on teams as talented as Baltimore. He's long been a respected locker room presence who should quickly assimilate with the Ravens and quickly ingest their playbook. But whether he can salvage their spiraling season is another question entirely. Unlike Jackson and Huntley, he is not a mobile player β meaning rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who worked with similarly dynamic Caleb Williams in Chicago last season, will likely have to alter his game-planning approach for Brissett significantly.
If you can get something for a QB3, why wouldn't you β especially a rebuilding squad like Arizona? Brissett was average this season, completing 63.3% of his passes for 1,719 yards, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a subpar 79.7 passer rating. Brissett won three of his eight starts this season, though was credited for the W in Sunday's comeback at Dallas, which was spearheaded by Minshew once he was inserted into the lineup. With Minshew assuming QB1 duties for the Cardinals, the team also promoted rookie Carson Beck into the primary backup role to get him more experience. With Minshew on an expiring contract, it is not clear who Arizona's starter will be in 2027.
