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Ravens Sign Quarterback Austin Reed Over 6 Veterans, With Rookie Joe Fagnano in Line to Start
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- Ravens Sign Quarterback Austin Reed Over 6 Veterans, With Rookie Joe Fagnano in Line to Start
The Baltimore Ravens went looking for a quarterback Monday and came back with one they already knew. Baltimore signed Austin Reed to its practice squad, according to Tom Pelissero , passing for now on the six veteran quarterbacks we listed Sunday, a group led by Jimmy Garoppolo and former Raven Cooper Rush.
With Lamar Jackson headed to injured reserve and Tyler Huntley dealing with turf toe, Pelissero reported that Reed is in line to back up undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fagnano went 10 of 21 for 91 yards with an interception and a lost fumble in his NFL debut in Buffalo after both quarterbacks ahead of him got hurt. "That'll be a surgery deal," head coach Jesse Minter said of Jackson's thumb after the 36-10 loss to the Bills . "He'll go to IR."
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Why the Ravens went with Austin Reed
Jul 30, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks Lamar Jackson (8), Joe Fagnano (12) and Skylar Thompson (11) talk during practice at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
Reed, 26, spent training camp in Owings Mills before Baltimore waived him Aug. 29. He played in all three preseason games, going 6 of 12 for 59 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception, and he added a 14-yard rushing touchdown. That summer gives him a head start in offensive coordinator Declan Doyle's system , something Garoppolo or Josh Johnson would have to cram in three days.
Before that, Reed set a UFL single-season record with 21 touchdown passes for the Dallas Renegades this spring, playing while his twin daughters, born premature in 2025, were in the NICU. He led the FBS with 4,746 passing yards at Western Kentucky in 2022 and spent parts of two years with the Chicago Bears after going undrafted.
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Money is part of it, too. Baltimore had just $1.91 million in cap space when we floated a Marcus Mariota trade Monday morning, and a practice-squad deal fits a team that may need room for a bigger move before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
Reed doesn't close the door on a veteran. Huntley's toe is still the swing factor, and a 4-4 team riding a three-game losing streak can still sign Garoppolo or Rush if the Jaguars game goes sideways. For Thursday, though, Minter's quarterback plan runs through an undrafted rookie and a practice-squad pickup, with Derrick Henry's short-yardage slump adding pressure on whoever takes the snaps.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
