{"id":845055,"date":"2026-03-31T15:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/845055\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:03:28","slug":"ravens-bring-back-huntley-for-2026-why-was-rush-ever-a-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/845055\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravens Bring Back Huntley For 2026: Why Was Rush Ever A Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Ravens<\/a> have re-signed backup quarterback Tyler Huntley<\/a> to a two\u2011year deal and released Cooper Rush<\/a>, a move that cements Huntley as Jackson\u2019s primary reserve after Huntley\u2019s strong spot starts and Rush\u2019s uneven fit in Baltimore\u2019s offense. <\/p>\n

The roster moves, announced this offseason in March, reshape the team\u2019s quarterback depth chart as the franchise heads into the offseason.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Re-signs Huntley to 2-year Deal<\/p>\n

Huntley earned the new contract that is worth $11 million for the next two seasons by stepping in effectively when called upon last season. He started two games and won both, completing a high percentage of his passes and posting an efficient passer rating while also contributing as a runner. <\/p>\n

That included a game that determined a potential playoff push in Green Bay<\/a>, as Huntley made enough plays with Derrick Henry r<\/a>unning all over them. He also made his return earlier in the season against the Rams<\/a>, as he replaced Rush in their loss, but had a signature win later in the season against the Chicago Bears<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those performances gave the front office confidence that Huntley can preserve the Ravens\u2019 offensive identity when Jackson is unavailable, and the multi\u2011year commitment signals the team\u2019s belief that he is the best internal option to maintain continuity.<\/p>\n

Cooper Rush\u2019s departure came after a brief, uneven stint in Baltimore. Rush arrived with a reputation as a steady veteran from his time in Dallas,<\/a> but he struggled to settle into the Ravens\u2019 scheme. In his lone start for the team, he threw multiple interceptions in a lopsided loss, and he was pushed down the depth chart after Huntley\u2019s effective relief work. <\/p>\n

Those on\u2011field struggles, combined with the Ravens\u2019 preference for a backup who mirrors Jackson\u2019s mobility and system fit, made Rush a logical cut once Huntley\u2019s deal was finalized.<\/p>\n

Rush wasn\u2019t a Great Fit as a Signing Last Season<\/p>\n

The decision to keep Huntley and move on from Rush reflects a pragmatic approach by Baltimore\u2019s front office: prioritize scheme fit and the ability to replicate the starter\u2019s style over veteran pedigree alone. <\/p>\n

In the short term, the Ravens enter the offseason with a clear No. 2 quarterback who can familiarly run the offense. Releasing Rush also clears immediate cap space and removes a veteran who had not earned a long\u2011term role in the system.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the move underscores the franchise\u2019s long\u2011term priority of finding backups who can preserve the team\u2019s identity and development pipeline. <\/p>\n

While Huntley now occupies the backup spot, the Ravens will likely continue to evaluate mobile, developmental options in free agency and at training camp to ensure depth behind Jackson. The roster shakeup gives Baltimore a clearer contingency plan at quarterback as it prepares for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Rewards Huntley with a Longer Deal<\/p>\n

\u201cSnoop\u201d Huntley was cut from the Cleveland Browns <\/a>practice squad, and Baltimore got lucky and swooped in as Lamar Jackson <\/a>went down against the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> early in 2025 and went with Rush for the next few games before turning to Huntley.<\/p>\n

Normally, I would\u2019ve expected them to potentially go cheap with a late-round rookie, but this frees up the draft pick to use at another key position or to use to trade up. There is reason to believe that if Baltimore had Huntley and gone with him instead of Rush, the Ravens could\u2019ve made the playoffs last season.<\/p>\n

He and Jackson are best friends,<\/a> making Snoop the perfect backup for him for the foreseeable future, as he showed some growth from previous seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Baltimore Ravens have re-signed backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to a two\u2011year deal and released Cooper Rush, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-845055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116324401562043740","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}