What happened
The Baltimore Ravens are finalizing a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been completed.
Baltimore sits at 4-4 and has run out of healthy quarterbacks at the worst possible time. Lamar Jackson is out indefinitely with a right-thumb injury and needs surgery on his right thumb. Backup Tyler Huntley suffered a turf toe injury and is reportedly set to miss the rest of the season.
That leaves undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano to start for Baltimore against Jacksonville on Thursday night. Jacksonville enters that game at 5-2. If the Brissett trade goes ahead as reported, the 33-year-old would probably start against the Chargers on Nov. 15.
Why it matters
This is a survival move, not a luxury signing. A 4-4 team in the middle of a playoff race cannot wait for its starter's thumb to heal, and it cannot ask an undrafted rookie to carry the offense for weeks. Brissett gives Baltimore a quarterback who has started games this season and run a real NFL offense in 2026.
His numbers in Arizona were mixed but usable: eight starts, 63.3% completions, 1,719 yards, 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He lost the job after Gardner Minshew stepped in and led Arizona to a 33-30 comeback win at Dallas, dropping Brissett to third string. For Baltimore, that demotion is the point. Arizona no longer needed him. Baltimore does.
Brissett's career tells the same story. He is 23-50 as a starter over 11 seasons, with stops in New England, Indianapolis, Miami, Cleveland, Washington and Arizona. The Patriots drafted him in the third round in 2016 to back up Tom Brady, and he has spent his career as the quarterback teams call when the plan falls apart. Baltimore's plan has fallen apart, and the timing of a midseason move like this is familiar around the league, as seen in [another recent NFL trade](/article/bears-trade-two-first-round-picks-titans-star-jeffery-simmons).
Quarterback injuries have already shaped this season, and the league's handling of them has drawn scrutiny, as in the [ongoing questions around Jalen Hurts' medical care](/article/goodell-nfl-welcomes-investigation-jalen-hurts-medical-care). For the Ravens, the question is simpler: can a veteran backup keep a .500 team alive until Jackson returns?
What happens next
First, the deal still has to be completed. Until then, Fagnano starts Thursday night against Jacksonville, a tough first assignment for any rookie, let alone an undrafted one.
If the trade is finalized, Brissett would get a short runway before the Nov. 15 game against the Chargers. No trade terms were reported, so the price Baltimore paid and what Arizona receives remain unclear. The next update to watch is confirmation of the deal itself, followed by whether Brissett is in line to start in two weeks.
