Jesse Minter says Joe Fagnano is “cool, calm and collected” and “doesn’t really get rattled,” and the Baltimore Ravens are about to find out. The undrafted rookie will make his first NFL start on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars after Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both went down in the 36-10 loss at Buffalo. “We’ll be starting Joe at quarterback this week on Thursday,” Minter said on Tuesday. “[It’s] an opportunity that we’re fired up about.”
The 4-4 Ravens host the 5-2 Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday, November 5, at 8:15 p.m. ET, which is 3:15 a.m. Friday in Cairo. Baltimore has lost three in a row, and Fagnano was 10 of 21 for 91 yards with an interception and three sacks against the Bills after he was thrown into the game early.
Minter: “Cool, calm and collected”
Asked what has stood out about Fagnano since he arrived in May, Minter said he “took advantage of opportunity.” Fagnano did not get many reps in OTAs, Minter said, but “when we had an injury at the position ten days before our first preseason game, he started to get more reps, and then we obviously all saw how he played in the game.” He added: “He’s cool, calm and collected; [he] doesn’t really get rattled, has a really good demeanor [and] played in a bunch of games in college.”
Minter said the Ravens “operated really well when he was in there in the preseason, just from time on the play clock and penalties and substitutions.” Knowing Fagnano is the starter, he said, is “a huge help” compared with last week, “where you’re not getting any reps, and you’re thrown out there in the middle of the first quarter.” It lets the offensive coaches do things “that he’s comfortable with, that he’s familiar with.”
The formula, and the quarterback room
Minter said the plan for the short week is simple. “It’s the ability to run the ball. It’s the ability to pick up Joe and play really well around him, play well in the other two phases [and] make some game-changing plays,” he said. Baltimore also added quarterback Kedon Slovis, a guy who “can come in, learn quickly, operate and be ready if needed,” and signed Austin Reed. Asked whether Huntley could land on injured reserve, Minter said, “Yes, potentially.” Kicker Jake Moody, who replaces Tyler Loop, “has kicked well in practice,” Minter said.
On the Jaguars, Minter pointed to their physicality in the run and pass game, their running backs who “break a bunch of tackles,” and Trevor Lawrence, who “plays at a high level.” “For us, it’s about us, how we play and how physical we can play,” he said. “Can we stop the run? Can we make some plays on defense at times to try to set up our team for success?”
Fagnano: “It’s truly next-man-up mentality”
Fagnano, who pronounced his last name “Fin-YAWN-oh,” called the start “special.” “It’s really the only way I can think about it. You work a lot to get into this position,” he said. “It’s unfortunate to see what happened to Lamar and ‘Snoop’ [Huntley], especially being two guys that I look up to since coming into the organization with the Ravens. They’ve helped me out a ton… It’s truly next-man-up mentality, and my job now is just to play the best of my ability.”
He said he has prepared like a starter all along. “Every walkthrough and every meeting I’m locked in as if I was preparing to be a starter. That’s how you have to be in this league,” Fagnano said. “You know you’re one play away at all times.” At home, he said, “we go through walkthroughs in the living room. She’s reading plays and stuff. She probably knows the playbook just as well as us at this point.” Asked whether his wife has dialed it up this week, he said: “Yes, she’s working on some play calls [and] we’re getting her signals down.”
On being an undrafted rookie in this spot, he said: “I don’t look at it like [a developmental year]. It’s another year, and I have guys counting on me to play good football and that’s what I’m going to do.” He said he has “great players around me,” adding, “how can you not be confident going into a game like that?” His ankle, he said, feels “good”: “every game you’ve got bumps and bruises. It’s just football.”
Calais Campbell and Zay Flowers: “We believe in Joe”
Fagnano said veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell has come to him “numerous times,” saying: “Hey, I’ve seen you work at practice, I’ve seen this, like, I know you can play.” “Having a guy like that that’s been in the league for 18 years, his word means a lot,” he said, and Derrick Henry has told him he has his back. “When you have guys coming up like that, that are future Hall of Famers, it means a lot.”
Campbell said the defense knows what it has to do. “We’ve done it in spurts, but we haven’t put together a complete game. So, this’ll be a great time for that to happen,” he said. On the mindset, he said the team has to “just get back to trying to win one football game. That’s it.” He asked the home crowd for help: “Hopefully ‘The Bank’ is rocking. Hopefully the fanbase comes out there and gives us an opportunity [and] gives us a little grace.” He also called the Jaguars “a really complete package” and said Lawrence is “playing his best ball of his career.”
Wide receiver Zay Flowers said the offense is ready to help the rookie. “Joe does a great job of preparing, so we have faith in Joe coming into this game. We believe in Joe,” he said. “He knows the playbook by heart… We just have to make some plays and help him out.” He added that the short week is a plus: “You get to go and play right away and try to get a win and get that off your back and off your mind.”
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