With Ravens star Lamar Jackson ruled out ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, second-year quarterback Tyler Huntley will take the spotlight.
Huntley, a former undrafted free agent out of Utah, is 14-for-29 in his NFL career, including the playoffs, for 114 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His last start in a regular-season game came Dec. 31, 2019, during his final game for the Utes, though he saw the field late in a Week 7 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals and finished 5-for-11 for 39 yards.
Huntley was a star in the preseason, however, and lit up the Washington Football Team on Aug. 28 by completing 24 of 33 passes for 285 yards and five total touchdowns in a 37-3 rout. He completed eight of his first nine passes while leading four straight scoring drives.
“We have been in camp for like six weeks,” Huntley said after finishing with a 138.3 passer rating to solidify his backup role and beat out Trace McSorley. “It feels good to end on a good note.”
Huntley took over for Jackson after the starter suffered a concussion during the Ravens’ 17-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills in January’s AFC divisional-round playoff game, and while he showed some bright spots, he largely struggled in limited action. He overthrew Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on a sure touchdown pass on one drive, then couldn’t get the Ravens into the end zone on their last.
Huntley played in 37 games with 33 starts across four seasons at Utah and threw for 7,351 yards with 46 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He also ran for 1,146 yards and 16 touchdowns on 389 career carries.
Huntley, who was first team All-Pac-12 and a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Manning Award in 2019, went 23-10 as the starter, ranking third all-time in career wins. He also owns school records for career completion percentage (.672) and single-season completion percentage (.730), yards per completion (14.1), passing efficiency (177.6) and total yards per play (8.3).
Huntley and Jackson are also from Broward County in South Florida, and Huntley’s Hallendale High once beat Jackson’s Boynton Beach, 38-36, in October 2014 for a district title. Huntley was a four-year starter and the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year and, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, he went all over the Southeast with high school teammates and won 7-on-7 competitions, outperforming quarterbacks with multiple Division I offers.
Huntley, then a skinny kid with long hair, earned the nickname “Snoop” before his freshman year at Hallandale when a former coach said he resembled the rapper Snoop Dogg, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
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