Ravens rule out Tyler Huntley (toe) vs. Bills

Further evaluation of Huntley’s toe injury showed it was a season ender. That leaves the Ravens desperate at quarterback for the remainder of the season. Against the Jaguars on Thursday night the team is likely to start Joe Fagnano. It’s unclear who will serve as the team’s backup quarterback this week or going forward. Zay Flowers goes from an elite weekly fantasy option to something closer to a WR3 in this degraded offensive environment. Derrick Henry’s prospects take a major knock too.

The decision on whether or not to place Huntley on injured reserve could come in the next few days as the Ravens prepare to play the Jaguars on Thursday. With Lamar Jackson (thumb) expected to be placed on IR and possibly be out for the rest of the season, Huntley landing on IR would mean the Ravens would be starting their third-string QB (or worse) for at least the next four weeks. Rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano has already been named as the starter for Thursday’s game against the Jaguars, but was seen sporting an ankle brace in Tuesday’s practice. While he’s expected to play through it, the Ravens could be forced to play either Austin Reed or Kedon Slovis, who signed with the team earlier this week.

Even in the best-case scenario, Huntley felt like a long shot to play in Thursday night’s game against the Jaguars, but it sounds like this is going to be a multi-week absence. An MRI will confirm the severity of his injury in the days ahead, but for now, rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano is expected to draw the start against the Jags for the 4-4 Ravens. Lamar Jackson, who will be placed on IR in the coming days, will undergo surgery to repair the thumb he dislocated in Sunday’s game, meaning the Ravens will bring in a veteran QB through a trade or free agency in the near future. It should go without saying, but all of the Ravens’ key fantasy assets will receive a noticeable downgrade with Jackson and Huntley both out.

According to Zrebiec, Fagnano “was hobbled by game’s end, after he took a low and penalized hit” from Bills DL Ed Oliver. Fagnano said he and the team will have to wait and “see” how he is feeling in the coming days, noting that “you’re always going to have bumps and bruises” after a football game. Lamar Jackson (thumb) is already headed to injured reserve and Tyler Huntley will undergo an MRI tomorrow to assess a potential turf toe injury. Zrebiec rightly writes that the Ravens “will almost certainly have to bring in at least one quarterback, if not two,” this week. He lists Anthony Richardson and Tua Tagovailoa as potential trade targets. At this point, it is unclear who will start for the Ravens on Thursday night.

Tomorrow’s MRI should clarify whether Huntley will miss time. In the meantime, Lamar Jackson will be placed on injured reserve with what could be a season-ending thumb injury. This leaves rookie Joe Fagnano as the team’s potential starter for the Ravens’ Week 9 Thursday Night Football game against the Jaguars, though Fagnano reportedly got a little banged up today, too. Stay tuned.

When asked if this is a potentially season-ending injury for Jackson, Minter’s response was, “We’ll see.” After seeing Jackson’s injury on replay, it was easy to assume the Ravens’ QB1 would be looking at another multi-week absence, but this sounds like the worst-case scenario. If Jackson doesn’t land on season-ending IR, he would be required to miss at least four games before he could even consider a return. Adding insult to injury, the Ravens also lost backup Tyler Huntley in this game to a toe injury, meaning rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano could be in line to start on Thursday night against the Jaguars in Week 9.

Huntley suffered a toe injury on a sack/fumble in the second quarter and was replaced by emergency QB3 Joe Fagnano. Huntley is eligible to return to the game if the team clears him to do so, despite some initial confusion that he would be unable to return after the Ravens were forced to put in their emergency QB.

Jackson surprisingly missed the Ravens’ Week 7 loss to the Bengals with his lingering ankle injury, which has been described as neither high nor low. “If Jackson’s injury history has taught the football world anything, his timeline to return can be complicated and an extended absence can derail the Ravens’ season,” Hensley said. “But ultimately, the only one who truly knows when Jackson will return is Jackson himself.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on Tuesday that he expected Jackson to suit up in Week 8 against the Bills. We likely won’t be sure of that until pre-game warmups. Tyler Huntley would continue as Baltimore’s starter if Jackson remains sidelined.

This makes it two straight games where Huntley and the Ravens failed to score in the second half. Huntley was solid in the first half, throwing for 227-1-0 on 21 passes, with his lone touchdown pass coming on a 48-yard screen pass to Zay Flowers on the Ravens’ opening drive. He would lead the Ravens on two drives that ended in field goals in the second quarter, but the Ravens struggled mightily in the second half as the Bengals rallied for 35 unanswered points. At one point, Huntley had the Ravens in position for a short field goal to go up 16-14, but passed on the points and opted to go for it on fourth-and-two, which resulted in an incomplete pass to tight end Josh Cuevas. It was reported during the game that Lamar Jackson (ankle) would be back for Week 8’s game against the Ravens. Now sitting at 4-3 on the year, it goes without saying that the Ravens are in desperate need of Jackson in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive AFC North division.

Huntley led the Ravens on a 10-play drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Cuevas to start the game. On the Ravens’ second drive, Huntley and Cuevas would connect on a 29-yard pass, only for that drive to end in a field goal to put the Ravens up 10-0 early. Unfortunately for Huntley and the Ravens, that would be all the scoring they would manage, as they were kept off the board for the remainder of the game thanks to a stout Browns defense that managed to sack Huntley three times and force a turnover from Derrick Henry. This was far different than last week’s start against the Falcons, when Huntley was responsible for three total touchdowns, and a reminder of the high-variance play we have come to expect from him. With the Ravens now sitting at 4-2 on the season, they will hopefully have Lamar Jackson (ankle) back under center next week when they play host to the Bengals.