John Harbaugh, Ravens Take Credit For NFL's New 3rd QB Rule
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Need a third? Thank the birds. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has taken credit for the NFL's recent passing of a roster rule that would allow teams to carry a third quarterback on their rosters in case of a medical emergency.
According to Harbaugh, he and Baltimore management conjured the idea when Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley's statuses for the 2022-23 postseason lay in doubt.
Such a rule potentially would've allowed the team to activate practice squad thrower Brett Hundley as a contingency option for Huntley and Anthony Brown with Jackson out.
"We actually put this rule proposal in," Harbaugh said, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. "(Ravens director of football research) Scott Cohen and (executive vice president) Ozzie Newsome worked on it during the season last year. We proposed it for the playoffs, and hey, you know what, hindsight is 20/20, right?"
Huntley wound up going the distance in the Ravens' postseason cameo, a 24-17 loss to defending AFC champion Cincinnati in the Wild Card round.
The NFL approved the third quarterback rule earlier this month, allowing teams to dress an emergency thrower that would not count against the 46-man game day roster. Such a quarterback only be allowed to enter the game if the two above him would have to leave the game due to injury.
Another postseason occurrence, one involving the San Francisco 49ers, was said to be the driving force behind the rule's passing (pun intended). When San Francisco lost both starting quarterback Brock Purdy and backup/current Raven Josh Johnson to injuries during the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia, they were forced to use a combination of running back Christian McCaffrey and an ailing Purdy under center.
While it comes too late to help the Ravens in their showdown against the Bengals, Harbaugh is pleased to see the idea implemented.
"You don't want to be in a situation now, with the way protocols are going, where a team is deprived of a quarterback. So, I think it's common sense. I applaud the league; I applaud the Competition Committee, the owners for voting it in, the league office for supporting it."
"I think it's a good move, and we'll just have to figure out our roster going forward with that rule in mind."
Though Hundley has moved onto the rebooted XFL, Brown, Huntley, and Johnson will be back to compete for the backup job behind Jackson along with undrafted rookie Nolan Henderson.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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