The Ravens have found their bridge quarterback. Baltimore is finalizing a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for veteran Jacoby Brissett, a move that comes days after the team lost both Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley in the same afternoon in Buffalo.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the deal is expected to be completed this weekend. Terms have not been announced. Because the trade won't be official until after Thursday, undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano will still make his first career NFL start when the Ravens visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football.
How Baltimore Lost Two Quarterbacks in One Game
Sunday's 36-10 loss to the Bills was supposed to be Jackson's return. The two-time MVP and season-long team captain had missed three games with a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 4 against Tennessee, and his comeback lasted exactly one snap. Bills edge rusher Gregory Rousseau hit Jackson's right hand on Baltimore's first offensive play, and the resulting thumb injury to his throwing hand requires surgery.
The Ravens placed Jackson on injured reserve Tuesday, which keeps him out a minimum of four games. Head coach Jesse Minter acknowledged the injury could potentially end Jackson's season.
Huntley took over and didn't make it out of the second quarter. Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver brought him down after a throw and landed on the back of his right foot, and tests this week confirmed a season-ending turf toe injury that will require surgery. Huntley, 29, had been the steadying hand during Jackson's ankle absence, starting three games and completing 76 of 110 passes (69.1%) for 727 yards, four touchdowns and one interception across five appearances.
The losses compound a rough stretch for the first-year Minter regime. Baltimore has dropped three straight, sits at 4-4 and is last in the AFC North at the midpoint of the season.
Why Brissett, and Why Now
Brissett became available almost overnight. Arizona benched him in the third quarter of Sunday's game at Dallas with the Cardinals trailing 17-3, and Gardner Minshew rallied them to a 33-30 overtime win. On Monday, head coach Mike LaFleur named Minshew the starter going forward and promoted rookie Carson Beck to backup, dropping Brissett to emergency third quarterback.
For a team in Baltimore's position, the fit was obvious. Brissett brings 73 career starts and more than 16,000 career passing yards, the kind of experience the Ravens' current room simply doesn't have. He also comes with a built-in translator: Ravens quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork held the same job in Arizona last season and coached Brissett there.
The contract helps, too. Brissett is on an expiring deal after reworking his contract with Arizona this offseason to end a brief holdout, a restructure that guaranteed him $15.5 million for 2026. His base salary is $1.5 million, and he comes off the books after the season, so Baltimore takes on no long-term commitment.
What the Ravens Are Getting
Brissett's 2026 hasn't been pretty. He started every game for Arizona before the benching, throwing for 1,719 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions as the Cardinals went 2-5 with him under center, and he was just 10-of-23 with an interception against Dallas before getting pulled.
The broader résumé is sturdier. In 2025, Brissett threw for 3,366 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions despite a 1-11 record as Arizona's starter, numbers that earned him that reworked deal in the first place. A third-round pick of the Patriots in 2016 and a Super Bowl LI champion as a rookie, he has since started for the Colts, Dolphins, Browns and Cardinals, with additional stops in Washington and back in New England. Baltimore will be his seventh franchise, and this is the second time he has been traded, the first coming when New England sent him to Indianapolis in 2017.
He won't be asked to be Jackson. He'll be asked to protect the football, get Baltimore into manageable situations and lean on a run game built around Derrick Henry.
Fagnano Gets Thursday Night
Until Brissett arrives and gets up to speed, the job belongs to Fagnano. The UConn product, listed as the Ravens' third quarterback on the Week 1 depth chart, finished out the Buffalo loss by completing 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards with an interception and a lost fumble in his NFL debut.
He is also playing hurt. Fagnano practiced Tuesday with a brace on his right ankle after getting banged up against the Bills, though he was a full participant and is set to start. He'll be only the second undrafted rookie quarterback ever to start for the Ravens, joining Anthony Brown.
The depth behind him is thin. Baltimore promoted Kedon Slovis to the active roster and signed Austin Reed to the practice squad this week, and the trio of Fagnano, Slovis and Reed has combined for just 23 career pass attempts and no NFL touchdown passes.
What Comes Next
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10, so the Ravens are getting their deal done with days to spare. Once it's official, Brissett's first priority will be learning Declan Doyle's offense on a compressed timeline, with his familiarity with Woolfork likely to speed up the process.
Whether he starts right away will depend on how quickly he can absorb the playbook and how Fagnano handles Thursday. Either way, the Ravens now have a veteran safety net for a season that, at 4-4, is still within reach, as long as they can keep their quarterbacks upright.
Game Information
Matchup: Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
When: Thursday, Nov. 5, 8:15 p.m. ET
Where: Jacksonville, Florida
TV/Streaming: Prime Video (Thursday Night Football)
Ravens starting QB: Joe Fagnano (first career start)