Baltimore Starts An Undrafted Rookie Tonight — And Is Already Trading For His Replacement

The Baltimore Ravens will start an undrafted rookie at quarterback on Thursday night, at home, on national television, because everyone in front of him is hurt — and the veteran they are trading for cannot arrive in time. Joe Fagnano, who played his college football at Maine and Connecticut and was not selected in the 2026 draft, makes his first NFL start against the Jacksonville Jaguars (tonight, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video) with the Ravens at 4-4, last in the AFC North, on a three-game losing streak in which they have scored no more than 13 points in any game.

The collapse of the depth chart happened in one afternoon. Lamar Jackson, in his first game back after missing three games with an ankle sprain, injured the thumb on his throwing hand on the first offensive play of last week’s game at Buffalo. Head coach Jesse Minter has confirmed Jackson will be placed on injured reserve; Minter said Jackson had not yet had surgery when he spoke, offered no definitive timeline, and said the team would have a fuller update later — USA Today’s reporting says the thumb requires surgery and will cost him at least four games, and that he may not play again this season. Tyler Huntley, who replaced Jackson at Buffalo, suffered a turf-toe injury in the same game and is out for the remainder of the season. That left Fagnano, whose entire NFL résumé before tonight is the second half of that 36-10 loss in Buffalo: 10 completions in 21 attempts for 91 yards and an interception. Minter announced on Tuesday that Fagnano would start; Fagnano has also been dealing with an ankle injury of his own this week, and behind him stand Kedon Slovis, signed off Green Bay’s practice squad this week, and Austin Reed from the Ravens’ practice squad.

The cavalry exists but is stuck in paperwork. Baltimore is finalising a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for Jacoby Brissett, a person with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press on Wednesday, speaking anonymously because the trade is not complete; ESPN and NFL Network report it will not be completed until the weekend, when the compensation owed to Arizona is to be set, and Brissett must pass a physical. No compensation has been announced and neither club has confirmed the deal. Brissett, 33, had been demoted to third string in Arizona behind Gardner Minshew II; because the trade cannot close before tonight, he is not eligible to play against Jacksonville and is expected to start for Baltimore in Week 10. Baltimore’s other losses compound the problem: kicker Tyler Loop is on injured reserve with a groin injury, so Jake Moody kicks; safety Jaylinn Hawkins is out. Jacksonville arrives as nearly the mirror image: 5-2, first in the AFC South, winners of 14 of their last 17 regular-season games going back to last November and fresh from a 42-7 rout of Indianapolis on Sunday — though the Jaguars put defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton and safety Eric Murray on injured reserve this week with season-ending injuries, and running back Bhayshul Tuten is a game-time decision, head coach Liam Coen said. The betting market has already delivered its verdict on the quarterback gap: the visiting Jaguars are favoured by double digits on the road. Tonight will show whether a rookie playing for his football life can beat the arithmetic.

Sources: USA Today and the Associated Press (via TSN) on the quarterback situation and the Brissett trade; jaguars.com for Jacksonville’s injury report; DAZN’s game preview.