OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano is set to make his first career start Thursday night, with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley injured.
Coach Jesse Minter announced Tuesday that Fagnano — who has been dealing with an ankle injury himself — would be the choice against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 25-year-old rookie made his NFL debut in Sunday's 36-10 loss to Buffalo after Jackson left with a thumb injury and Huntley left with a toe
issue.
“You work a lot to get into this position,” Fagnano said. “It's unfortunate to see what happened to Lamar and ‘Snoop’ — especially being two guys that I look up to, since coming to the organization with the Ravens, have helped me out a ton. So that's part's tough.”
Fagnano went 10 for 21 for 91 yards with an interception last weekend. He played college football at UConn and Maine. After going undrafted, he made Baltimore's 53-man roster out of camp.
“It's a guy that took advantage of opportunity,” Minter said. “He didn't get a ton of reps in OTAs due to our numbers at quarterback, especially days where we had all those guys there. Truthfully, it was when we had an injury at the position 10 days before our first preseason game, he started to get more reps, and then we obviously all saw how he played in the (preseason) games.”
With Jackson expected to miss significant time and Huntley not practicing either, the Ravens are down to Fagnano, Kedon Slovis and Austin Reed at quarterback. Slovis, signed Tuesday, played in two games for the Arizona Cardinals last season.
Minter did not have an update on Huntley's status or when Jackson is expected to have surgery. The Ravens do not have a lot of time to prepare for Jacksonville, so acquiring a more experienced quarterback may not have made much difference this week.
“Short week, first one I've been a part of,” Fagnano said. “Quick turnaround going from Sunday to Thursday, but about how you expect. Watch the tape, get some corrections done, and then straight to the next.”
Also, Baltimore put kicker Tyler Loop on injured reserve Tuesday because of a groin problem.
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