The Baltimore Ravens wasted no time fixing their significant quarterback woes, as the team jumped into making a deal for Jacoby Brissett, who began the season as the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.
Brissett had a solid start to the season before he began to regress to the mean with the rest of the Cardinals organization. In eight starts he posted 1,719 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Those stats are a little better than they look on paper, considering three of Brissett’s picks came in a terrible Week 4 game against the Giants.
What we don’t know right now is what the Ravens gave. It’s an awkward case with Adam Schefter reporting that the trade won’t be made until the weekend the Ravens play in Thursday Night Footballso instead grade it based on the trade itself — we’re looking at different criteria for both teams. When we know more about the deal itself, we’ll follow up.
Brissett is the best fit the Ravens have found
Brissett is far from the perfect quarterback, but he’s a solid fit for the Ravens. What they need at this point is someone who can take care of the football and stretch the field to take pressure out of the box so Derrick Henry has more free running room. Brissett can do one of those things very well.
There’s no question that Brissett didn’t play error-free football in Arizona, but the Cardinals also don’t have real weapons outside of tight ends Trey McBride and Michael Wilson, who both work best on intermediary routes. Having the best pass-catching TE in football certainly helps and offensively, but the lack of an outside threat to stretch the field deep created a problem the Cardinals couldn’t solve.
In Baltimore that flips. Zay Flowers is a very good pass catcher who could work as the No. 1 target of the Ravens, and Rashod Bateman is also a guy who works best on deeper routes. Both receivers moderate over 15 yards-per-reception with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley underneath, and that should continue with Brissett.
Perhaps, most importantly, Baltimore found a cheap solution to their massive QB problem, and the best in a thin market. Teams that still need QBs will have to try to convince the Raiders to give up Kirk Cousins (which won’t be easy in Las Vegas at 4-4), or settle for an incredible drop in the next tier of quarterbacks that will likely include guys like Joe Flacco, Tyson Bagent, and Tua Tagovailoa.
In other words: The Ravens didn’t find the perfect solution, but they may have gotten the best guy they possibly have right now, without mortgaging their future.
The cardinals are making good strides in embracing their future
I’m a total sucker for a self-aware team, which is why I love this deal for Arizona — whatever it is. Brissett is on a one-year deal, so this is entirely about getting something for nothing, while also advancing their agenda when it comes to evaluating their future.
No one is under the illusion that Gardner Minshew will be Arizona’s starter for the rest of the season. It’s clear the team is motivated to give him a few games, then start to evaluate Carson Beck when he’s ready to step in and get back up to speed. That’s undeniably the right move for a team that’s going to build in the Top 10, and face a QB decision in the 2027 draft.
Keeping Brissett was a lower cost that did nothing for them. He didn’t think about their future at this point, nor should he. This will allow Brissett to make an impact for a team hoping to make a playoff push, while the Cardinals can continue their rebuild, which is ahead of schedule because Arizona has been more competitive than most have given them credit for this season.