OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Jacoby Brissett's next challenge is to fill in for a two-time MVP in Baltimore.
If anyone should be used to that assignment, it's Brissett. The 33-year-old has been a journeyman for the past several seasons, but has plenty of experience replacing standout quarterbacks.
“I think he’ll operate our offense at a level required to be successful. We’re really excited about the addition, and he’s just a very mature pro that I think will
bring a leadership style to our offense from the quarterback position,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “He’ll get the ball out on time. He’ll be able to kind of run the whole thing. He’ll be a leader. He’ll hold guys accountable.”
Brissett is set to start for the Ravens on Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers. Baltimore traded for him after Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley both had to go on injured reserve. Now in his 11th season, Brissett is one of the game's most experienced understudies. Rarely a team's top choice entering the season, he nonetheless has started 73 games, often in place of some pretty big names.
“You are around a lot of different people, a lot of different systems, different situations, every year,” Brissett said. “So just being able to be flexible, that’s what’s kept me in this league for so long, and this is no different.”
Brissett was drafted by New England in 2016, the year Tom Brady was suspended four games in the “Deflategate” aftermath. When Jimmy Garoppolo went down with an injury, Brissett suddenly found himself starting a couple of games less than a month into his career.
Indianapolis traded for Brissett the following year, with Andrew Luck recovering from surgery. Brissett ended up starting 15 games that season. When Luck abruptly retired two years later, Brissett was next man up for Indy, again starting almost every game.
“You have to have grace for yourself, obviously, and then confidence that you wouldn’t be in that position if the organization, the team, the coaches, the players didn’t think that you can handle it," Brissett said. “Then obviously, you take it day by day, and I think you slow the time down while everybody else is moving fast around you.”
In 2021, he made five starts for Miami in place of the injury-plagued Tua Tagovailoa. A year later, Brissett started Cleveland's first 11 games when Deshaun Watson was suspended following sexual misconduct accusations.
In 2024, Brissett was back in New England, starting the first five games while the Patriots held off on making rookie Drake Maye the No. 1 quarterback. Last year, Brissett replaced injured Kyler Murray and made 12 starts for Arizona. With Murray out of the picture this year, Brissett started the first eight games for the Cardinals before being demoted and then quickly traded.
“It was obviously a tough situation. Then you get the news like the next day or two, or whatever it is, and then you kind of have to get your mind wrapped around another situation," Brissett said. “So, it’s kind of all over the place, but having those extra days kind of helped me settle my emotions down and then obviously refocusing and figuring out what the next steps were.”
Now he's in a familiar role — replacing a franchise quarterback as what the team hopes will be a short-term fix. Baltimore announced Friday that Jackson's type of thumb injury typically takes six to 10 weeks to heal. Brissett's job is to keep the Ravens (4-5) in playoff contention for as long as he's needed.
“He’s a guy who’s played 11 years, so he’s seen a lot of football,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “He’ll let it rip. He can really drive the ball. Those are all things that I’m really excited about with him.”
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