The Baltimore Ravens will start undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Week 9 opener on Thursday night, coach Jesse Minter announced. Fagnano's ascension to QB1 comes in the aftermath of injuries taking a massive toll on the Ravens depth chart, with Lamar Jackson suffering a right thumb injury that required surgery, along with top backup Tyler Huntley dealing with a turf toe injury.
"We'll be starting Joe at quarterback this week on Thursday," Minter said. "An opportunity we're fired up about. Excited to play in front of our fans Thursday night against a really good team."
Fagnano was the emergency third quarterback when the Ravens kicked off their Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills and found themselves needing to turn to him rather quickly. On the first snap of the day for the Baltimore offense, Jackson injured his right thumb on a follow-through, colliding with Buffalo pass rusher Greg Rousseau. That knocked him out of the game and thrust Huntley into action. However, he was unable to stay on the field long after suffering the toe injury.
Minter noted that Jackson and Huntley are likely heading to injured reserve before Thursday's game, so this start against Jacksonville could be the first of many for Fagnano. Kicker Tyler Loop is also set to land on I.R.
Coming in under duress last week, Fagnano completed 10-of-21 for 91 yards and an interception, while also losing a fumble. The 25-year-old rookie with Baltimore in the spring after going undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft out of UConn. Over the course of the summer, he beat out fellow undrafted rookie Diego Pavia to make the opening 53-man roster.
"Going all the way back, it's a guy that took advantage of opportunities," Minter said of Fagnano. "When we talked in training camp about, really [to] all 90 players that you have at that time, having a chance and you can play your way onto the team, I really thought he did that.
"He didn't get a ton of reps in OTAs due to our numbers at quarterback, especially days when we had all of those guys there. Truthfully, when we had an injury at the position, you know, 10 days before our first preseason game, he started to get more reps. Then, we all obviously saw how he played in the game."
In the preseason, he completed 56-of-75 (74.7%) for 509 yards passing, three passing touchdowns, and one interception.
Fagnano comments on ankle injury
While Fagnano may be getting the nod, he may not be 100% healthy. During the loss to Buffalo, the UConn product appeared to injure his ankle, but was able to stay in the game.
At practice on Tuesday, Fagnano was spotted wearing a rather large brace on that right ankle.
Joe Fagnano is practicing with a significant guard/brace on right ankle. pic.twitter.com/DHc0c169Gu
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) November 3, 2026
"Good," Fagnano said when asked how his ankle is after practice. "Every game you got bumps and bruises. Just football. Physical game we play. Feels good, though."
