The Baltimore Ravens had to make some tough calls, but being able to tell undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano that he made the 53-man roster was a great one.
On social media, the Ravens shared a video of general manager Eric DeCosta calling Fagnano into his office to tell him he made the team. It also showed Fagnano stepping off to call his parents and tell them he made the team in a touching moment.
EDC tells undrafted rookies @joefagnano and @eburke4lax that they’ve officially made the 53-man roster:
Fagnano’s story is incredible: a guy who was seen more as a fourth-string QB worked his way to third string and made the team. A moment like that would certainly bring up some emotions.
Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Fagnano Talks Making the Team
Fagnano spoke with the media for the first time since making the 53-man roster. He shared his excitement about joining the team and his reaction to the news.
“[It was] pretty surreal. Obviously, all the emotions were going pretty fast. [I] didn’t really know what to expect when I was called into the office. When he told me… I knew I had confidence in myself and the way I played, but you just never know how things are going to shake out. It was super cool to hear that from the ‘GM’ [executive vice president and general manager Eric DeCosta], and now I have kind of come back down to Earth and realize that I have a job to do — [and that’s] to do whatever I can to help this team win games.”
Before training camp began, Fagnano was looking at competing against Diego Pavia and Skylar Thompson for the third-string job. Pavia was cut, and Thompson was placed on IR, opening the door for Fagnano to earn the job.
During the preseason, 74.7% of his passes for 509 yards and 3 touchdowns to 1 interception. He added 12 rushing yards on 4 carries and 1 touchdown.
When asked about whether he felt like a long shot to make it, Fagnano was honest with his answer.
“It’s hard to say no because I came in as an undrafted free agent. [There were] a couple of other quarterbacks in the room. I didn’t know what my opportunities were going to look like, but I just knew that if I got them, I was going to hit the ground running and I wasn’t going to look back. I am proud to say that I did that. But, like I said, I have a lot of work to do. I want to keep improving and help this team win.”
Joe Fagnano Defined the Odds & Made Ravens’ Roster
Fagnano is a great NFL story of how he overcame a lot to make a team. It’s especially hard for a quarterback to make it in the league with everything they need to do.
This year will be a good one for Fangano to sit behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to learn from two very good veterans. The hope is that he can compete for the backup job in the next year or two.
After some concerns about him, Fangano’s future looks bright after making the team. Now it’s time for him to hold onto the job and run with it.
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