Peterman given call to start at QB for Bills
There will be two first-round quarterbacks on the sidelines of the Ravens’ season opener Sunday.
The Buffalo Bills announced Monday that Nathan Peterman will start over No. 7 overall pick Josh Allen in Baltimore. A fifth-round pick last year, Peterman was 33-for-41 in the preseason with three touchdowns and an interception.
Peterman appeared in four games late last season for Buffalo, starting two. In his first appearance, he came on late in the fourth quarter and was 7-for-10 for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. But he never completed more than 50 percent of his passes in his three subsequent games, a stretch marred by a five-interception performance in the first half of a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Overall, he was 24-for-49 for 252 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. He was sacked just once and had seven carries for 23 yards.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday that he he was not surprised that Bills coach Sean McDermott announced his starting quarterback this early.
“It would be pretty hard to keep that a secret,” he said. “You have to practice your starting quarterback. I'm sure Sean felt like it’s just like, ‘Hey, he's earned it.’ It's not surprising. We were just going to go with whatever — we were just going to prepare for the Bills. I'm not surprised. I think he's done a very good job in the preseason. He's looked good. We're preparing him and for the rest of the Bills team.”
In naming Allen their backup quarterback, the Bills avoided testing a daunting history. The Ravens are 14-2 at home all time against rookie quarterbacks, though the Chicago Bears and Mitchell Trubisky wonthe last such meeting last season. LB Young ‘day-to-day’: Kenny Young picked up the first start of his NFL career in the Ravens’ preseason finale Thursday. Whether the rookie inside linebacker will be ready for his first regular-season game is still to be determined.
Four days after Young injured his left knee in the first half against the Washington Redskins, forcing him out of the game and into a brace, Harbaugh said he did not have an update on the fourth-round pick’s health ahead of Sunday’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
“We’ll see how he does,” he said. “Probably day-to-day is the best wayto describe it. We’ll see how he looks today [at practice] and how he looks Wednesday and Thursday and see if he’ll be ready to go Sunday.”
Young finished the preseason second on the Ravens in total tackles (21) and solo stops (14) and had a sack and two quarterback hits. His availability could be crucial for a defense that has only three other inside linebackers: projected starters C.J. Mosley and Patrick Onwuasor and undrafted rookie Chris Board.
The Ravens last week traded Kamalei Correa, who had experience at inside linebacker but mainly played outside, to the Tennessee Titans and on Saturday released 32-year-old inside linebacker Albert McClellan. But Harbaugh indicated that McClellan, who also was a key cog on special teams, could return to the fold. ‘Fresh start’ for Perriman: Breshad Perriman could not find a spot on the Ravens’ 53-man roster, but his former coach is rooting for him.
With the 24-year-old wide receiver reportedly set to work out for the New York Jets on Monday, and visits with the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills also possible, Perriman could get a new lease on his NFL career after three underwhelming years in Baltimore.
Count Harbaugh among the former first-round pick’s well-wishers. The 24-year-old led the Ravens in the preseason in receptions (11) and receiving yards (136) and had one touchdown catch before getting cut Saturday.
“To me, that’s the thing that I think he’s excited about, and I’m excited about for him,” Harbaugh said. “You get a chance to kind of get a fresh start and a healthy start. I want to see them be successful.” End zone: Former Gilman star Cyrus Jones was among the final three players signed to the Ravens’ practice squad, the team announced Monday. Jones, a second-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2016, was waived Saturday. He missed all of last season after he tore his ACL and partially tore his meniscus in the Patriots’ final preseason game, and appeared in just 10 games for New England overall. … The Ravens also signed second-year cornerback Daniel Robertson and undrafted rookie defensive end Christian LaCouture to their practice squad.