Ravens lose backup QB to season-ending injury, per reports
The Baltimore Ravens aren’t just dealing with an injury to starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. They have also lost backup quarterback Tyler Huntley long-term.
Huntley suffered a turf toe injury while playing in relief of Jackson against the Buffalo Bills in Week 8. The injury occurred when Huntley was being twisted to the ground by Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver and had his right foot plant awkwardly in the ground.
Huntley exited the contest following the play and did not return to action, with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano finishing the game for the Ravens.
Huntley was ruled out for the Ravens’ Week 9 "Thursday Night Football" game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but it now appears that his absence will extend well beyond that contest.
Here’s what to know about Huntley’s injury and the state of the Ravens’ quarterback room.
Tyler Huntley injury update
Huntley’s turf toe injury is expected to be season-ending, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Huntley is expected to have surgery to repair his turf toe injury, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports. Rapoport also compared the injury to the one Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow dealt with in 2025, when he missed nine games because of the malady.
"He faces a long road ahead," Rapoport wrote in a post to X while discussing Huntley’s injury.
Huntley finishes the 2026 season having posted a 1-2 record while making three starts as Jackson dealt with an ankle injury earlier in the season. The 28-year-old completed 69.1% of his passes for 727 yards, four touchdowns and one interception across five total appearances.
Is Lamar Jackson out for the season?
While Huntley is expected to miss the rest of the season, the Ravens have not officially ruled Jackson out the rest of the way.
That said, Ravens coach Jesse Minter did acknowledge Jackson’s thumb injury could "potentially" be season-ending. And at the very least, the malady will land the two-time MVP on IR.
"That’ll be a surgery deal," Minter said when discussing Jackson’s injury during a postgame news conference on Sunday, Nov. 1. "He’ll go to IR. That’s a tough deal."
Minter was asked again for an update about Jackson’s status at a Monday, Nov. 2, media availability. He told reporters the 29-year-old had not yet had surgery and that the team would have more information about his status "maybe sometime this week."
Minter did not share any additional information about Jackson’s thumb injury.
"I’m not going to get into the specifics of the injury," Minter told reporters.
Jackson would not be eligible to return from IR until Week 14 at the earliest, so his ability to return may depend both on his recovery and Baltimore’s ability to remain competitive in the AFC playoff race.
Who is the Ravens’ starting quarterback?
For now, that would be Joe Fagnano. The undrafted rookie will make his first NFL start against the Jacksonville Jaguars on "Thursday Night Football" after completing 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards and an interception in relief of Jackson and Huntley against the Bills.
Fagnano (6-3, 230 pounds) spent the final three seasons of his college career at UConn and completed 68% of his passes for 3,448 yards, 28 touchdowns and one interception during his sixth and final college season.
Ravens QB depth chart
Below is a look at the expected pecking order among the quarterbacks the Ravens will have available on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 9.
- Joe Fagnano
- Austin Reed (practice squad)
- Kedon Slovis
Reed and Slovis each signed with the Ravens ahead of their Week 9 game against the Jaguars. Reed is currently on the practice squad, but he may be the favorite to back up Fagnano after playing for the Ravens during the 2026 NFL preseason.
Reed was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024. He has never appeared in an NFL regular-season game, but he thrived for the Dallas Renegades during the 2026 UFL season, completing 56.3% of his passes for 1,923 yards, a league-high 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Like Reed, Slovis went undrafted in 2024 after playing collegiately for USC, Pitt and BYU. The Ravens are his fifth NFL organization and he has played sparingly during his career to date, dressing for two games with the Arizona Cardinals in 2025 and completing 1 of 2 passes for negative-2 yards.
The Ravens had to sign Slovis to their 53-man roster because he was on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad. Despite that, the 25-year-old may find himself in the team’s third-string role as he looks to get up to speed on Declan Doyle’s offense.
Still, Slovis played for Ravens quarterback coach Israel Woolfork in Arizona, so that familiarity could help him get up to speed quickly in Baltimore.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ravens lose backup QB to season-ending injury, per reports
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