Ravens Put Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley on Injured Reserve as Jacoby Brissett Trade Nears

It has been a brutal week to be a Baltimore Ravens quarterback, and on Thursday it got officially worse. The Ravens placed Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley on injured reserve, ruling both out for at least the next four games — and leaving a team already on a four-game losing slide to finalise a trade for veteran Jacoby Brissett just to have a functioning quarterback room. Jackson's injury is the one that matters most. The two-time MVP hurt his right thumb — his throwing hand — in Sunday's loss to Buffalo, and he requires surgery. His recovery timeline is uncertain, and so is his availability for the rest of the season. Huntley, meanwhile, suffered a serious toe injury in the same Buffalo game and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Two quarterbacks, one game, both gone. The cost was on full display on Thursday night. With both men out, undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano made his first NFL start in the 33-10 loss to Jacksonville, completing 10 of 18 passes for 60 yards with two interceptions. It was a debut no rookie deserves, and the result dropped Baltimore to 4-5 with a fourth straight defeat. A season that began with championship talk is now a fight simply to stay relevant. Enter Brissett. The 33-year-old veteran has 73 career starts and began this season starting for Arizona before losing the job to Gardner Minshew. Baltimore is finalising a trade with the Cardinals to bring him in, though the agreement had not been officially completed as of Thursday. He would not be a saviour — at this stage of his career, Brissett is a steady hand, not a star — but a steady hand is exactly what the Ravens need right now. The timing gives Baltimore a small mercy: an extended break before their next game, at home against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10. That gap gives Brissett time to learn the offence and gives the coaching staff time to build a game plan around what he does well. The NFL trade deadline, 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10, adds its own urgency to getting the deal done. For Jackson, the wait begins. Thumb surgery on a throwing hand is not a minor procedure, and the Ravens will not rush their franchise player back. For the rest of the team, the message is stark: the season now depends on surviving the next month without him.