The Ravens are sliding fast, and a short week does them no favors. Baltimore has dropped three straight, Lamar Jackson is injured, and Thursday brings a Jacksonville team that looks every bit like a playoff-caliber opponent.
Across the roster, the problems are stacking up - the run game, the passing game, the line, the secondary. If the Ravens are going to stop the bleeding, a few key players have to show up in a hurry.
Mark Andrews is the first name that jumps out. There was a time when he was one of the NFL’s most dangerous tight ends, a central piece of Baltimore’s passing attack.
That version of Andrews feels like a distant memory now. The drops have piled up, the yards after the catch have nearly disappeared, and his role has shrunk from game-changer to background piece.
Since his All-Pro season in 2021, the decline has been steep: 1,361 receiving yards and 31.9% of the team’s passing yards that year, then 847 and 26.5% in 2022, followed by 544 and 14% in 2023, 673 and 16.1% in 2024, 422 and 12.9% in 2025, and just 218 yards and 12.2% in 2026. Zay Flowers’ rise has changed the shape of the offense, but Andrews still needs to matter.
With undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano starting, Baltimore should lean on the tight end as a safety valve. Andrews has to fill that role on Thursday.
Malaki Starks also has to answer the bell. Eight games into his second season, he still hasn’t fully arrived, even if there have been flashes.
He had been building some momentum before Week 8, but the loss to Buffalo knocked him right back down. Against the Bills, he missed a critical tackle on what should have been a fourth-down stop and then got beat deep on a 23-yard touchdown to Dalton Kincaid.
As Baltimore’s deep safety, Starks is supposed to help erase explosive plays, and that job gets a lot tougher against Trevor Lawrence and a Jacksonville offense that lives on big pass plays. If Starks isn’t sharp, the Jaguars can make him the focal point.
Then there’s John Simpson, whose play up front is becoming a real problem. Baltimore paid him $30 million, but the seventh-year guard hasn’t looked the part.
He’s been passable in the run game, yet his pass protection has been a mess. Simpson has given up 16 pressures in 2026, and his Pro Football Focus grade sits at 53.7, which ranks 57th.
That’s not nearly good enough with Fagnano under center. Last week, the rookie quarterback was under siege, and too many of those breakdowns came from the interior.
If Baltimore wants any chance of getting something going on offense, Simpson has to stabilize his side of the line.
In Other News...
Lamar Jackson Buzz Just Reignited A Dolphins QB Debate
Lamar Jacksons future has become a familiar talking point whenever the Ravens enter the conversation, and the latest round of speculation came from Fox Sports Nick Wright, who floated a scenario that would put the quarterback in Miami down the line. It is the kind of offseason-style debate that tends to follow a star of Jacksons caliber, especially with his Florida background adding an extra layer to any discussion about where he might eventually want to play.
For Baltimore, the noise is less about a specific move and more about the bigger questions that keep resurfacing around Jacksons long-term outlook. Recurring injuries and limited playoff success have kept his name in the rumor mill, even without any official trade chatter or team decision, and that is enough to keep a Dolphins debate alive whenever a national voice pushes the idea back into the spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Face A Calais Campbell Decision As Trade Buzz Builds
As the trade deadline approaches, Calais Campbell has become one of the more intriguing names to watch in Baltimore. The veteran defensive lineman is on a one-year contract, and with the Ravens navigating a difficult season, there is at least a plausible case for listening if interest materializes. Campbell still brings the kind of size, experience and interior presence that can matter to a team trying to steady itself late in the year.
One potential suitor makes the situation even more interesting because of the familiar coaching tie. A team led by John Harbaugh is expected to be in the market for help, and Campbells history in that system could make him a logical fit if the Ravens decide to move him. Baltimore would not be dealing from a position of leverage, which is why this is the kind of deadline subplot that can develop quickly once teams start looking for immediate defensive help. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Face A Brutal Short-Week Test After Latest Injury Wave
The Ravens are heading into a short-week matchup with Jacksonville already stretched thin, and the quarterback situation has turned into the most urgent storyline of all. With Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both unavailable, Baltimore has turned to Joe Fagnano to start under center, while also adding Kedon Slovis to the active roster as the team tries to stabilize a position group that has been hit hard by injuries.
There was more roster shuffling behind the scenes, too, as Tyler Loop was placed on injured reserve and Jake Moody was promoted to handle kicking duties. With several players on both sides dealing with injury concerns, this game now carries the feel of a survival test as much as a normal Week 1-style reset, and Baltimore will have to piece together answers quickly if it wants to keep the Jaguars from taking advantage of the chaos. [Read more 🡒]