Joe

Fagnano

Whelp, that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for the rookie quarterback’s chances of starting under center for the Ravens when they host the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 9. The team lost both Lamar Jackson to a season-ending thumb injury and backup Tyler Huntley to a turf toe injury in their Week 8 loss to the Bills, now in desperate need of a viable quarterback option as they fight for their playoff lives. It is possible the team addresses the position through trade with just over a week until the trade deadline, although that is unlikely to help them on a short week. More to come in what quickly became a dire situation in Baltimore. Fagnano was officially listed as limited on the team’s estimated practice report Monday.

Head coach Jesse Minter didn’t dismiss the possibility of this being a season-ending injury for Jackson when asked about it after the game, but the optics on the field weren’t good, and the team wasted little time announcing he would undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to learn in the days ahead that Jackson’s season is over, but the team will likely wait until after he has his surgery to make any formal announcement. With Jackson and Tyler Huntley (toe) both being sidelined, rookie UDFA Joe Fagnano is slated to start on the short week on Thursday against the Jaguars.

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.

Injuries to Lamar Jackson (thumb) and Tyler Huntley (toe) resulted in Fagnano getting on the field with nearly half of the second quarter left to be played. The rookie UDFA performed as expected, completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes while taking three sacks and committing two turnovers. Fagnano looked a little more poised in the second half, with one of his throws resulting in a 22-yard completion to Rashod Bateman, but the Ravens’ QB room is in shambles heading into a short week. With Jackson likely to miss an extended period of time, and Huntley at risk of missing at least one game due to the short week, it’s possible Fagnano will draw the start at home against the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. It goes without saying that he can’t be trusted in any fantasy format, and he would put a serious cap on the upside of all of the Ravens’ key fantasy assets.

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.

Fagnano completed 56-of-75 passes for 509 yards and three touchdowns in preseason action while taking just one sack. Last year’s major UDFA winner among the quarterbacks was Max Brosmer, so don’t go thinking Fagnano needs to be on your dynasty bench or anything, but him making the 53-man roster was interesting and this adds a little flavor as to why that was.

Fagnano (6’3”/226) is a rare seventh-year prospect who got his start at Maine in 2019. The 25-year-old signal-caller transferred to UConn in 2023 and started the final three games of the 2024 season before entering last season as the full-time starter. He has good size for the position and posted an impressive 48:5 TD:INT ratio in his final two college seasons, but Fagnano lacks ideal arm strength and struggles at times to avoid sacks when pressured. In his final game, Fagnano threw for an impressive 446-3-0 against FAU and ended his season with 3,448-28-1. He will look to earn a spot on the Ravens’ roster ahead of training camp via his tryout at rookie minicamp.