The Baltimore Ravens season got flipped on its head in Week 8 when Lamar Jackson suffered a serious thumb injury on his first play since returning from an ankle injury that had sidelined him for three-and-a-half weeks. Jackson could wind up missing the remainder of the 2026 campaign, which means the Ravens have suddenly found themselves in the market for a new quarterback.
Making matters even worse, Tyler Huntley suffered a toe injury after being brought in to replace Jackson, which left undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano as the last man standing. The good news for Baltimore is that the trade deadline still has not struck, and in the blink of an eye, it seems like a top target has emerged for the team after the Arizona Cardinals announced that they were benching their veteran starter, Jacoby Brissett.
Ravens Quickly Get Linked to Jacoby Brissett After Cardinals Benching
Without Jackson, the Ravens’ playoff hopes are obviously dim, but with Huntley injured and Fagnano also getting banged up late against the Buffalo Bills, this team is running the risk of not having a healthy quarterback at their disposal. As a result, the front office may have no choice but to trade for someone at this position.
Even though he just got benched, Brissett is probably one of the better options Baltimore will find at this time of the year. Through eight games, he’s completed 63.3% of his passes for 1,710 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, he hasn’t been nearly as effective as he was last season, and after a rough start against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, he was benched in favor of Gardner Minshew II.
On Monday, the Cardinals announced that Minshew will remain the team’s starter, with Brissett being the No. 3 quarterback behind him and Carson Beck. That opened the door for Brissett to get traded, with several folks quickly linking him to a Ravens squad that is suddenly in desperate need of a quarterback.
The Ravens hired former Cardinals QBs coach Israel Woolfork as their QBs coach this offseason, so he has previously worked with Jacoby Brissett,” Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team noted in a post on X after news of Brissett’s benching surfaced.
Should the Ravens Trade for Jacoby Brissett?
Brissett has spent the majority of his career working as either a backup or fill-in quarterback, but he enjoyed a lot of success with the Cardinals last season after he essentially stole the starting job from Kyler Murray (14 G, 315/485, 3,366 YDS, 23 TD, 8 INT). This season obviously hasn’t gone nearly as well for Brissett, and the fact that he is now behind both Minshew and Beck on the depth chart indicates that he is likely to be moved in the coming days.
At this stage of the game, Arizona is probably looking to just move on from Brissett, which works in Baltimore’s favor, as it likely won’t cost much to bring him to town. There are some obvious links to Brissett on the Ravens coaching staff (as noted above), so while it certainly isn’t an ideal situation, he may just be the best available option for this team in its effort to keep its 2026 campaign alive.
Ravens Trade Rumors Heat Up After Cardinals Make Major Quarterback Move