Getty Ravens QB Josh Johnson hands the ball to RB Melvin Gordon.
Football finally returned for Baltimore Ravens fans on Friday, August 9 when they took on the Philadelphia Eagles in Preseason Week 1. While a majority of the starters did not play, including QB Lamar Jackson, Ravens’ fans got a look at their new options for backup QB and one analyst thinks it could be an issue.
Baltimore Beatdown’s Kyle Phoenix of SB Nation picked his 7 winners and 3 losers from the game and picked the “Backup Quarterbacks” as the top “Losers'” section.
Phoenix wrote, “The Ravens are keen on keeping [Josh] Johnson as their No. 2 quarterback, but his performance tonight left much to be desired.”
Other than maybe one drive, this has been ugly from the Ravens offense tonight. They have 111 total yards of offense in final minute of third quarter.
Josh Johnson and Devin Leary are a combined 6-of-17 for 65 yards
Jackson is an MVP quarterback, so if he goes down with an injury the season would be in trouble already. However, with the phenomenal defense Baltimore has even moderate QB play could be enough.
Unfortunately, that is not what they got out of Johnson or rookie QB Devin Leary. Phoenix wrote about Johnson, “He played the first half and the Ravens finished with 109 net yards and went 0-for-5 on third downs. He finished the night going 4-of-12 for 62 yards and a quarterback rating of 51.4.”
Leary did not impress in relief of Johnson, so it appears that the role still belongs to the veteran Johnson. “But Johnson isn’t in a heated competition for the No. 2 role as rookie quarterback Devin Leary’s night was equally uninspiring, finishing 6-of-10 for 37 yards.”
It was only the first game of the preseason, so both QBs will have further opportunities to impress the coaches and front office.
QBs Josh Johnson and Devin Leary Opposite Sides of Career
The competition for the backup job between the two QBs is an experience versus unknown as Johnson is entering his 10th season in the NFL (14th season in professional football).
Johnson has been around the league, and this is his second stint with the Ravens. He has taken an in-season snap for 7 NFL teams including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted him in 2008, the Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers.
In addition to those 7 teams though he has been a member of 6 other practice squads for a total of 13 of the 32 NFL teams. Johnson also had stints with the Alliance of American Football and the XFL, so he has plenty of experience.
What the veteran does not have is much success unfortunately as he has only gotten into 39 regular season games and only 9 of those as a starter. The Ravens signed him to replace QB Tyler Huntley, who left for the Browns after backing up Jackson the last few seasons.
Leary on the other hand is entering his first season out of Kentucky and was a 6th round pick of Baltimore. While he did not show much in the game against the Eagles, it was his first performance in the NFL ever, so he does get a bit of grace.
At 24-years-old, Leary is on the older side for rookies, but he will still need times to get used to the speed of the NFL level.
General Manager Eric DeCosta May Need to Bring Another QB
The Ravens are a team with Super Bowl aspirations and much of those lands of the shoulders of Jackson but over the years the MVP has dealt with injuries. Having a backup QB that could come in and provide serviceable snaps has been a must for general manager Eric DeCosta.
Huntley had been that guy from 2020-2023 and did well at the position. Unfortunately, he left for a division rival in the offseason, which forced DeCosta to find a replacement.
Leary was drafted and Johnson was brought in as the veteran backup, but if they show they cannot handle the backup job it may force DeCosta to look elsewhere.
It is unlikely that he trades for a backup QB but may look to see which QBs get trimmed from rosters towards the end of the preseason. Interestingly enough, Huntley is listed as the fourth QB on the Browns depth chart, so he could be an option to return to Baltimore if his time in Cleveland does not pan out.
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Analyst Puts Ravens Backup QBs in ‘Losers’ Section After Game Against Eagles