The Baltimore Ravens knew they needed a competent backup for Lamar Jackson, so they gave former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush $4.2 million in guaranteed money to sign in free agency.
An agreement with Rush worth $12.2 million was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday, March 16. He also revealed the two-year contract contains over a third in guaranteed cash.
That’s a healthy deal for Rush and a hefty chunk of money paid out by the salary cap-challenged Ravens. Both of those things reflect the importance of ensuring their options at QB2 remain strong.
It was a concern even before multiple-team veteran Josh Johnson became a free agent. Particularly in light of Jackson’s injury history.
Rush will offer more recent starting experience and be game ready in the event disaster strikes the Ravens’ most important player.
Ravens Got a Quality Backup
Front-loading a deal for a 31-year-old with 14 career starts was a risk worth taking for the Ravens. Especially when they got a quality backup in return.
Rush has compiled a solid 9-5 record as a starter, according to StatMuse. He’s proved he can win in the NFL by playing smart football and trusting the talent around him.
Those qualities make Rush the ideal efficient counterpoint to Jackson. He’s never going to carry the same big-play potential as the league’s premier dual-threat signal-caller, but Rush will stick within the confines of offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system.
That’ll be easier to do when two-time rushing champion Derrick Henry is in the backfield. When Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely are splitting time at tight end. When a five-time Pro Bowler now headlines Jackson’s receiving corps.
The Ravens have all they need to amply support any quarterback, but their success still ultimately hinges on Jackson’s availability. Rush’s addition is so important because recent history has shown the Ravens the cost of being without Jackson and lacking a credible alternative.
Lamar Jackson Absence Has Hurt the Ravens
As ESPN’s Jamison Hensley pointed out, “the Ravens haven’t needed to play their backup quarterbacks much in recent years; Jackson hasn’t missed a game because of injury since the end of the 2022 season.”
That’s true, but you only need to cast an eye back to the 2021 and ’22 seasons to see the cost of Jackson’s absence. The Ravens slumped to 0-5 and missed the playoffs, after starting 2021 at 8-4, following Jackson suffering an ankle injury that lingered.
Jackson lost six games after spraining his knee late in the following season. The Ravens still made the postseason this time, largely thanks to the competent performances of Pro Bowl backup passer Tyler Huntley, but they were soon one and done.
Huntley’s efforts that year brought into focus the value of a capable deputy for Jackson. So does an overall record of “4-10, including playoffs, when Jackson has not started at quarterback,” per Hensley.
In this context it makes sense Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta handed Rush a bloated contract. The decision has put an exclamation mark on what was a hidden, but still not insignificant, gap on the depth chart.
