A look at the Ravens’ utterly uninspiring options at quarterback

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Ravens need healthy quarterbacks. And they need them quickly.

After losing star Lamar Jackson to a potentially season-ending thumb injury and backup Tyler Huntley to a toe injury on Sunday, the Ravens are down to one healthy quarterback on their roster. And even Joe Fagnano acknowledged after Sunday’s 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills that he’d need treatment ahead of Thursday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“We’ll figure that out over the next 24 hours,” coach Jesse Minter said of the team’s quarterback plans.

If Huntley’s toe injury sidelines him this week, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta will have to make a move. The team has no practice squad quarterback; running back Justice Hill was the Ravens’ break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option after Jackson and Huntley went down.

But finding a capable caretaker this late in the season will be difficult. DeCosta is unlikely to spend premium draft capital on a high-level replacement, and the Ravens have little salary cap space. Teams are also typically reluctant to part with their accomplished backups. As stirring as a Joe Flacco homecoming might be, why would the Cincinnati Bengals ever trade away their Joe Burrow insurance plan in the middle of a potential AFC North title run?

The Ravens have three likely paths to a new arm: signing a free agent, signing a quarterback from another team’s practice squad, or trading for a reserve by the NFL’s Nov. 10 deadline. Here are 11 potential options, listed in alphabetical order in each category.

Free-agent QBs

Cooper Rush: The Ravens signed Rush, 32, to back up Jackson last offseason. He lasted just two starts in 2025 before Huntley leapfrogged him. In four appearances, Rush went 34-for-52 (65.4%) for 303 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. He averaged minus-0.43 expected points added per play and 5.8 yards per attempt, both woeful marks. Rush went 0-2 as a starter for the Atlanta Falcons this season, going 22-for-39 (56.4%) for 229 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions before he was released last month.

Jimmy Garoppolo: Garoppolo, 35, considered retirement this past offseason, but NFL Network reported in July that he could return to play “in the right situation.” He appeared in three games for the Los Angeles Rams last season but last threw a pass in 2024, when he went 27-for-41 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in one start for the Rams.

Reserve QBs

Atlanta Falcons’ Andy Dalton: Dalton, 39, started the season as the backup to Philadelphia Eagles starter Jalen Hurts. He was demoted to the third string after throwing an interception on his first pass with the Eagles in Week 3. The Eagles released him Oct. 9, and he signed with the Falcons 10 days later. He’s behind Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa on the depth chart, who have extensive injury histories. In four games (one start) for the Carolina Panthers last season, Dalton went 25-for-37 (67.6%) for 293 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Chicago Bears’ Case Keenum: Keenum, 38, is in the first year of a two-year, $5.5 million contract extension that he signed with the Bears in March. With starter Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent sidelined by injuries earlier this year, Keenum started two games for Chicago, winning both. He’s 35-for-53 (66%) for 355 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in three appearances this season. He also knows Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle well, having served as the third-stringer in Chicago last year, when Doyle was the Bears’ non-play-calling offensive coordinator.

Chicago Bears’ Tyson Bagent: Keenum is the more expendable of the two Bears quarterbacks, but his presence could make the Bears open to parting with Bagent, who’s in the last year of a two-year, $10 million extension. The 26-year-old also has experience with Doyle, appearing in three games for Chicago last season. Over his career, Bagent has started six games, completed 66.2% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt, and thrown three touchdowns and nine interceptions.

New Orleans Saints’ Zach Wilson: The former No. 2 overall draft pick is third on the depth chart in New Orleans, his fourth team in six seasons. But Wilson, 27, has familiarity with Doyle. Wilson spent the 2024 season in Denver, where Doyle served as the Broncos’ tight ends coach. In four games last season for the Miami Dolphins, Wilson went 6-for-11 (54.5%) for 32 yards. He has a career completion rate of just 57%.

Practice squad QBs

Cincinnati Bengals’ Josh Johnson: Johnson, 40, has already had three stints with the Ravens, most recently in 2024, when he attempted three passes in six appearances. In five games (two starts) last season for the Washington Commanders, he went 34-for-54 (63%) for 372 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Johnson’s spent the entire 2026 season on the Bengals’ practice squad.

Green Bay Packers’ Kedon Slovis: Slovis, 25, was the Arizona Cardinals’ backup for a stretch last season after Kyler Murray suffered a season-ending foot injury. He appeared in two games and attempted just two passes — the only two attempts of his NFL career — but he should know Ravens quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork well, as Woolfork held the same position in Arizona last year.

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Nick Mullens: Mullens, 31, signed a two-year, $4.5 million deal with the Jaguars in March 2025 to back up Trevor Lawrence, but he was released this August after the team acquired Quinn Ewers in a trade. Mullens has spent the entire season on the Jaguars’ practice squad. His last significant action came in 2023, when he went 100-for-148 (67.6%) for 1,306 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions for the Minnesota Vikings.

New York Jets’ Will Levis: Levis, 27, last appeared in a game in 2024, when he started 12 games for the Tennessee Titans, the team that made him a second-round pick after a surprising fall in the 2023 draft. The athletic Levis missed the entire 2025 season with an injury to his throwing shoulder. The Titans cut him at the end of training camp in August, and he signed with the Jets’ practice squad in late September. Levis has been sacked 69 times in 21 games, completed 61% of his passes and thrown for 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Los Angeles Chargers’ Jake Browning: Browning, 30, is three seasons removed from a seven-start Bengals season in which he completed 70.4% of his passes for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But his last season in Cincinnati was a struggle; Browning went 0-3 as a starter and finished with more interceptions (eight) than passing touchdowns (six). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut Browning at the end of training camp after he lost the backup job to rookie Jalon Daniels, and he signed with the Chargers’ practice squad last month.