The Ravens got a bitter taste of life without Lamar Jackson.
With their franchise quarterback out of the lineup, the Ravens offense was out of sync and managed just one touchdown in the final two games.
Tyler Huntley is a capable backup quarterback but he cannot carry the team like Jackson.
In the season finale against the Steelers, Huntley threw two costly interceptions – one in the end zone – and lost a fumble that led to a field goal in a 16-13 setback in overtime.
“We’ve just got to translate this hurt, this long season, this up-and-down season, this crazy season … We’ve just got to translate that into our offseason, come back next year and just prepare ourselves for another long season,” Huntley said. “We’ve just got to be ready to attack whatever comes to us coming in the next season because we don’t know.
“If you ask us about what all went on this year, we wouldn’t even have an answer for you, for real, because it’s just been too much hitting us at once. But we’re going to use the offseason to regroup, recollect ourselves, and refocus.”
6 game losing streak, losing season, swept by Steelers and Bengals and last place in the AFC North after being the number 1 seed in the conference just 6 weeks ago. What an incredibly tortuous season. #RavensFansHaveShorterLifeExpectancies
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 9, 2022
Huntley also failed to throw or score a touchdown in each of his last two starts and finished 1-3 as a starter. The Ravens were also 0 for 4 in the red zone over the last two games — an area where they sorely missed Jackson.
With Jackson as their starter, the Ravens went 7-5. They were 1-4 without him.
Nonetheless, the Ravens have not lost confidence in Huntley and they will likely bring him back as the No. 2 quarterback behind Jackson next season.
“Tyler is a strong guy, a very strong competitor,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He’ll be fine. We’ll talk to him. We’ll talk to everybody. He’ll be in great shape. He’ll learn from all the experiences here. He’ll go on with the rest of his career, and he’s going to do very well. I’m very happy with him, and I love him to death.”
Over seven games, Huntley threw for 1,081 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions for a 76.6 rating.
Huntley is now an exclusive-rights free agent, which means the Ravens have to tender him a contract to keep him. They’ll likely offer Huntley a deal and move forward with him as Jackson’s main backup.
As for Jackson, he’ll play next season under a fifth-year option that pays him $23.02 million.
While Jackson has been a dominant quarterback and former NFL MVP, he also had some struggles this past season.
Over his past five games, including the Week 14 matchup with the Browns when he was injured in the first quarter, Jackson completed 100 of 157 pass attempts (63.7%) for 939 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions (71.6 rating).
He was sacked 17 times.
The Ravens will try to reach a long-term with Jackson, but that could cost them in excess of $40 million per season and affect contracts with other playmakers.
Jackson has stated his preference to remain in Baltimore but there hasn’t been much movement with a new contract.
“I would love to be here forever,” Jackson said. “I love Baltimore. I love the whole organization. I love everybody in the building. But hopefully, we’ll be making something happen pretty soon or whenever.”
We’ll see …
