Jacoby Brissett Trade Won't Save Baltimore Ravens' Season

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Jacoby Brissett Trade Unlikely to Rescue Baltimore’s Season

Jacoby Brissett is heading to his seventh team after the Baltimore Ravens acquired him in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. With Baltimore’s quarterback room decimated, the move is an attempt to save the season, but it may already be too late by the time Brissett is ready to play.

Brissett performed well for Arizona during the second half of several games last season. Although he did not complete the comebacks, he accumulated plenty of passing yards and points, earning a contract for this year. He was viewed as one of the lowest-ranked starting quarterbacks entering the season, but he kept the Cardinals competitive and helped them win more games than expected.

Arizona eventually determined that Brissett was not its quarterback for the future or the remainder of this season. After giving him a contract, the Cardinals traded him and turned to Gardner Minho instead. The expectation is that Arizona will now lose more often, while Baltimore could face the same outcome.

For the Ravens, Brissett provides an experienced quarterback who can take snaps, complete occasional passes and potentially keep a few games competitive. However, the move is not expected to significantly improve Baltimore’s chances of reaching the postseason.

The Ravens also needed to make an experienced addition for the sake of their fans and season ticket holders. It would have been difficult to sell Joe Fagnano, previously an emergency quarterback who had not dressed, as the answer. Slovis and Fagnano were unlikely to attract fans willing to pay to watch the team struggle each week.

Despite the logic behind the move, questions remain about Brissett’s effectiveness. Much of his production came from repeatedly targeting Trey McBride. Brissett averaged 76 passing yards per game to McBride through eight weeks, and the quarterback-tight end pairing produced the most receptions and yards by such a combination since 1970. However, Brissett struggled to get the ball downfield to other Arizona receivers, including Michael Wilson.

Baltimore has Zay Flowers, but Brissett’s limitations still make a postseason run appear unlikely. The trade improves the optics and adds experience to the quarterback room, but the outlook remains a postseason no for the Ravens.