On Saturday, Baltimore Ravens fans were not treated to a happy holiday with the news Tyler Huntley was being placed on the reserve/COVID list. With Lamar Jackson already questionable with an ankle injury, the question now is who will start at QB for the Ravens in Week 16? Will Jackson be able to suit up, or will it be the newly acquired Josh Johnson they turn to?
Tyler Huntley was placed on the COVID list Saturday
The situation with injuries and illness seemed like it could not get worse for the Ravens. They have been ravaged across the board with injuries. They have 16 players that are on season-ending IR with Ja’Wuan James designated to return. Entering Saturday, they had a further 17 players on their reserve/COVID list. Unfortunately, that number increased when it was reported Huntley was being added to the list Saturday.
Huntley had missed practice Friday with an illness but the reports all referred to it as being a non-COVID illness. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case as Huntley would be placed on the reserve list just 24 hours later. A source told ESPN that the move comes due to Huntley having a positive test Saturday morning.
Will it be Lamar Jackson or Josh Johnson on Sunday?
The Ravens do at least have Jackson potentially available. Despite not practicing all week with an ankle injury, the Ravens listed him as questionable.
However, on Saturday, the Ravens announced that Jackson would not travel with the team. Therefore, he is out for the Ravens’ Week 16 game against the Bengals.
Josh Johnson could play in his fourth game this season
Johnson was signed by the Ravens off the Jets practice squad last week. Johnson played limited snaps in Weeks 8 and 12 for the Jets but had to step in when Mike White was injured in Week 9. In that game, he completed 27-of-41 passes for 317 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
This is likely the scenario the Ravens were envisaging when they signed Johnson. Jackson had already struggled with COVID twice and is reportedly unvaccinated so could be subject to an immediate 5 or 10-day quarantine. Therefore, having a veteran like Johnson was crucial for the Ravens heading into the final weeks of the season. Just a matter of 10 days later, that move has meant they at least have one healthy QB heading into Week 16.