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The Ravens do not know who will start at quarterback on Thursday night in a must-win game against the Jaguars, according to head coach Jesse Minter, while second-year kicker Tyler Loop could be heading to Injured Reserve..
In an atrocious combination of roster-construction failure and misevaluation by their crack front office – and gross negligence by rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle – the Ravens got three quarterbacks hurt behind the line of scrimmage in Sunday’s, 36-10 debacle in Buffalo. They ran 11 personnel – three receivers, not heavy packages designed for max protection – over 65% of the time, they didn’t do enough to help failing tackles and called way too many pass plays in a game that was basically done by halftime, behind failure GM Eric DeCosta’s greatest offensive line malfeasance yet (set Derrick Henry free from this mess before the deadline, like a real org).
Superstar Lamar Jackson was lost, likely for the season, with a mostly free runner smashing his hand on the first dropback of the game in his first game back from a three-week, high-ankle sprain. Backup Snoop Huntley (toe) was quickly ambushed behind this line himself, and he will not be able to play Thursday, according to Minter, and undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano was beat up and getting treatment on his foot and ankle throughout the game.
“I think we’ll figure that out in the next day or two,” Minter said of his starter. At 4-4, losing three straight games, scoring three points in the second half total in those games and allowing the most points in the NFL in the second half with the worst scoring differential, it probably doesn’t really matter at this point.
Baltimore has two AFC wins (Colts and Jaguars) and its playoff hopes are nil without Jackson. Whether it’s Fagnano trying to gut it out – “To Joe’s credit he’s kind of fighting through some things … we expect him to have a chance on Thursday,” Minter offered – or Austin Reed who was just brought back to the practice squad this week after a brief cameo in the preseason, this is going to be rough. The Ravens are trying to acquire a veteran with ties to this system – Chicago’s Tyson Bagent was the top objective, league sources said, but won’t come cheaply if at all – and are expected to make a play for former Arizona starter Jacoby Brissett.
Mintner said the team could have more clarity on the timetable for Jackson later this week – he was scheduled for a procedure the coach said Sunday – but the reality is the Ravens are virtually certain to be out of the mix whenever Jackson could come back, and with a fake contract for 2027 that essentially cedes all leverage to him, playing him would be ridiculous even by DeCosta’s standards.
As for Loop, he sent the opening kickoff out of bounds and missed another chip-shot field goal and Minter and DeCosta have had him on notice for weeks. Minter was nebulous about the nature of the injury and when exactly it occurred (“He was dealing with something small that kind of became something more,” is what we’re going with here). Whatever it is, he could be bound for IR and Jake Moody will be elevated from the practice squad for Thursday’s game.
Moody has kicked for three teams previously and is yet to establish himself after being a second-round pick of the 49ers. Loop was drafted in 2025 to replace scorned and despised former kicker Justin Tucker, who accepted a lengthy suspension from the NFL for sweeping and credible accusations of predatory sexual behavior from throughout his tenure in Baltimore. He was never condemned in any way by anyone in this organization, even when finally terminated, and mostly praised even on the way out.