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ESPN Staff Writer- Jamison Hensley is a reporter covering the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011, covering the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018, and he authored a book titled: Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the Ravens beat writer for the Baltimore Sun from 2000-2011.
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ESPN Staff Writer- Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University.
The Arizona Cardinals are finalizing a trade to send quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The deal is expected to be completed this weekend.
The Ravens lost starting quarterback Lamar Jackson to a potentially season-ending thumb injury that will require surgery. Backup Tyler "Snoop" Huntley has a turf toe injury that will end his season, sources told Schefter and Rapoport earlier Wednesday.
Undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano will start Thursday night's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kedon Slovis and Austin Reed, both of whom were acquired this week, are backing up Fagnano.
Baltimore's three active quarterbacks on Thursday -- Fagnano, Slovis and Reed -- lack experience. They have combined for no previous starts, 44 snaps and 23 passes attempted.
With the Ravens having an 11-day break after Thursday, Brissett should have enough time to be ready for the Nov. 16 Monday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Ravens (4-4) have lost three straight games to fall into last place in the AFC North. The injuries at quarterback have taken a toll on Baltimore, which has failed to score more than 13 points in three straight games for the first time since 2005.
Brissett will reunite with Ravens quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, who held the same position last season with Brissett in Arizona. The two also worked together in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns.
Brissett was benched this week by the Cardinals, who named Gardner Minshew II their starting quarterback moving forward. Rookie Carson Beck was named the backup with Brissett as the third-stringer.
Brissett had started the past 20 games for Arizona dating back to Week 6 of last season before he was benched late in the third quarter of Sunday's 33-30 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Brissett asked for a trade Monday when coach Mike LaFleur called to tell him about the shake-up in the quarterbacks room, a source told ESPN.
Discussions about sending Brissett to Baltimore began Sunday after the game, a source told ESPN, and the conversation picked up steam Tuesday afternoon.
The Cardinals were 3-5 this season with Brissett as the starter and 1-11 last season. Over the past 20 games, Brissett was ranked No. 1 in dropbacks, completions and attempts, third in passing first downs, fourth in completion percentage over expected, fifth in passing yards, and seventh in passing yards and broken sacks. He was sacked 62 times over that stretch, which is tied for the most in the NFL.
He was contacted a league-high 241 times as well. Brissett led an offense that ranked fourth in time of possession, 10th in yards and turnovers, 16th in total points and yards per game, and 21st in points per game.
Brissett made headlines in the offseason when, after replacing Kyler Murray as Arizona's starting quarterback last season, he held out for a reworked contract, missing OTAs and holding in during mandatory minicamp. He was given $15.5 million guaranteed this season, which replaced the last season of a two-year contract that initially was supposed to pay him $4.88 million in base salary with $1.5 million guaranteed.