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Ravens quarterback Joe Fagnano, who entered training camp as a long shot to make the team, will start Thursday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Jesse Minter said Tuesday.
Fagnano will be the Ravens’ third starting quarterback this season. Lamar Jackson suffered a potentially season-ending thumb injury early in Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, and backup Tyler Huntley could go on injured reserve with a toe injury that happened later in the first half.
Fagnano practiced Tuesday with a bulky brace on his right ankle/lower leg, which he hurt Sunday. But Fagnano said his ankle was feeling “good”; he was estimated to be limited in Monday’s walk-through and was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice.
“He’s cool, calm, collected,” Minter said Tuesday. “Doesn’t really get rattled, has a really good demeanor, played in a bunch of games in college. And so you certainly feel good about it. I thought we operated really well when he was in there in the preseason. … So excited to see him go out there Thursday.”
Fagnano entered training camp behind Jackson, Huntley and Skylar Thompson on the Ravens’ depth chart, but Thompson suffered a season-ending injury in mid-August, opening the door for the Connecticut product to contend for at least a spot on the practice squad.
By the end of the preseason, he’d earned a spot on the 53-man roster. In three games, Fagnano went 56-for-75 (74.7%) for 509 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also had a rushing touchdown and was sacked just once.
Fagnano struggled in his NFL debut Sunday, finishing 10-for-21 for 91 yards, an interception and taking three sacks behind an underwhelming offensive line. He acknowledged after the game, the Ravens’ third straight loss, that he was dealing with some “bumps and bruises.”
But his workload has increased this week in his preparation for an elite Jaguars defense — and not just at practice. Fagnano’s wife, Lydia, had helped Fagnano simulate walk-throughs in their living room by reading plays. This week, he joked, she’s “getting her signals down.”
“Every walk-through and every meeting I’m locked in as if I was preparing to be a starter,” Fagnano said. “That’s how you have to [be] in this league. And again, that’s something I learned from Snoop [Huntley] and Lamar: You’re one play away at all times. So when a situation like this comes up, not much has changed, other than I’m just getting some more physical reps.”
The Ravens also signed Kedon Slovis off the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad Tuesday, but he acknowledged after practice that he’d only just started learning coordinator Declan Doyle’s offense. Austin Reed, who spent time in Baltimore in the preseason, joined the practice squad Monday.
Loop sidelined
Kicker Tyler Loop was placed on injured reserve Tuesday because of a right groin injury, sidelining him until at least the Ravens’ Week 14 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Minter said Monday that Loop had been “dealing with something small,” only for the injury to become “a little bit more.” Loop has made 13 of 17 field goals (76.5%) this season, with maybe his most notable miss coming Sunday, when he failed to convert a 34-yard field goal against Buffalo. He’s just 4-for-8 on kicks between 30 and 49 yards this season.
Practice squad member Jake Moody, who hasn’t kicked in a game this season, will be elevated for “Thursday Night Football.” He went 19-for-23 (82.6%) on field goals last season in stints for the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders.





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