Huntley out, Johnson will start for Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens put quarterback Tyler Huntley on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, leaving them without their top two QBs for today’s showdown at Cincinnati for first place in the AFC North.
Lamar Jackson missed last week’s game with a sprained ankle, and the Ravens announced this weekend that he would not travel with the team. Huntley played well in Jackson’s place in last weekend’s loss to Green Bay, but now Josh Johnson is the team’s top healthy quarterback.
The Ravens signed the 35-year-old journeyman Johnson before last week’s game. He appeared in three games earlier this season for the New York Jets, completing 29 of 45 pass attempts for 334 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. The bulk of those stats came on Nov. 4, when Johnson replaced injured starter Mike White in a 45-30 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
A fifth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008, Johnson has started eight games (36 total appearances) and has a 1-7 record while seeing game action for the Bucs, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Washington and Jets. He played in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 before it folded and in the XFL in 2020 before it shut down due to the pandemic.
In his NFL career, Johnson has thrown for 1,966 yards with 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
It’s been one major blow after another for the Ravens ever since running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards went down with season-ending knee injuries before the season even began. Baltimore has more than a dozen players on injured reserve and several more on the COVID-19 list.
The Ravens (8-6), who have lost the past three games by a combined four points, have managed to hold at least a share of first place for almost the whole season, but they would fall out with a loss to the Bengals (8-6). Baltimore activated quarterback Kenji Bahar from the practice squad.
In the 31-30 loss to the Packers, Huntley passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 73 yards and two scores.
Cincinnati got back cornerback Chidobe Awuzie from the COVID-19 list, but had to place two defensive linemen, D.J. Reader and Wyatt Ray, on that list. CHIEFS’ HILL GETS CLEARANCE >> Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill has cleared the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Hill, 27, was added to the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday along with six other Chiefs players, joining tight end Travis Kelce as potential casualties for today’s game with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hill will now be available for the game.
The status of Kelce remains up in the air. He has been activated but not cleared to play, giving him the opportunity to play with a second negative test on game day.
PANTHERS’ DARNOLD GOOD TOGO>> The Carolina Panthers activated quarterback Sam Darnold from his shoulder injury and expect him to be ready to see action behind current starter Cam Newton today against the Buccaneers.
Darnold went on the injured reserve list prior to the Panthers’ Week 10 game with the Arizona Cardinals and has been out ever since, missing five games. EAGLES’ SIRIANNI RETURNS
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has cleared the NFL’s COVID-19 testing protocol and will be on the sideline for today’s game against the New York Giants.
The team said Sirianni returned to its facility on Saturday morning.