The Cardinals are sending QB Jacoby Brissett to the Ravens in a trade that "is expected to be completed this weekend," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That timing is important because Baltimore plays Jacksonville on Thursday night.
What They're Saying: They're Not Acquiring a Backup
ESPN's Adam Schefter: "The trade will not be finalized in time for Jacoby Brissett to play Thursday night vs. Jacksoville. But once it is, he will be expected to make his debut in Week 10."
No Impact on Week 9
Looks like we'll get the first start of Joe Fagnano's career against a heavily favored Jaguars squad. The Jags just finished making Daniel Jones and the Colts look stupid in a lopsided Week 8 contest. It's not difficult to envision Thursday night's contest going similarly.
Fagnano completed just 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards with an INT and 3 sacks taken after Baltimore lost Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley against Buffalo.
The QB situation downgrades every member of the Ravens offense. You can check our Week 9 rankings to see where everyone lands.
Expect a New Starter for Week 10
Fortunately for Brissett and the Ravens, the next game will come on Monday night of Week 10 against the Chargers. That gives the team and player the longest possible non-bye span within a regular season to get him ready.
Brissett's obviously not good. That's why Arizona benched him in favor of Gardner Minshew at Dallas and then demoted the veteran to third on the depth chart. But he's better for Baltimore's offensive skill players than the undrafted rookie starting this week.
Brissett should at least help to keep the target count up for WR Zay Flowers, who managed these receiving lines in the three games Jackson missed entirely:
- 8-53 on 9 targets at Atlanta
- 6-66 on 11 targets at Cleveland
- 8-137-1 on 11 targets vs. Cincinnati
Brissett might not support the same catch rate, though. He sports a 62.1% career completion rate vs. Tyler Huntley's 66.7%. Brissett holds the edge in yards per attempt, though, 6.5 to 6.0 for their respective careers.
Don't expect any other Baltimore pass catchers to be attractive plays. TE Mark Andrews sits just 33rd at the position in PPR points per game, and no Ravens WR besides Flowers is averaging more than 2.4 catches per game this season.
