The Baltimore Ravens, yet again, are set to come face-to-face with a former quarterback in an upcoming matchup.
But this won't come against Joe Flacco and his new team, the Cincinnati Bengals, with his midseason trade from the Cleveland Browns setting him up for three potential showdowns against the team with which he once won Super Bowl MVP.
No, his Bengals sit waiting on the other side of the Ravens' Week 12 opponent, the New York Jets. The 2-8 squad offers few tantalizing storylines, having won as many games as the Browns without much hope of seriously frightening the surging 5-5 Ravens, but they do offer another familiar face at the most important position.
Tyrod Taylor was named the Jets' starting quarterback ahead of the Ravens' first game back home in November, the latest in a long line of updates as to whether he or Justin Fields is the best fit for being the top man in line. While Fields, the younger of the two with more recent draft upside, has been granted numerous shots at the gig, his 139.9 yards per game were not getting it done in seeing seven losses through as the starter.
New York Jets Quarterback Tyrod Taylor
Nov 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Taylor, a decade Fields' senior, doesn't exactly fit the mold of an ideal starter, either. The professional place-holder's 62% completion percentage throughout limited appearances in his 15th season has him almost tied exactly with Fields, but the career backup is happy to just still be around the league, and to have played long enough to manage one more face-off between the team that once drafted him.
Even if he was never able to come close to reaching a status as a franchise quarterback, his career was an abject success from the standpoint of a former sixth-round pick. He spent his first four seasons in Baltimore, hanging around long enough to witness the Ravens' 2013 Super Bowl win, but departed not long after in playing for six other teams that eventually led him to New York.
"It's a full circle moment, for sure," he said ahead of this weekend's matchup. "Thankful for my time in Baltimore. ... Learned a lot about football. Learned a lot about how to carry myself off the field as well, too. Forever thankful for the four years I spent there."
Tyrod Taylor, a Ravens' 2011 sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, on Sunday's reuniting:
"It's a full circle moment, for sure. Thankful for my time in Baltimore. ... Learned a lot about football. Learned a lot about how to carry myself off the field as well, too. Forever… pic.twitter.com/OFafVw9V3x
— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) November 20, 2025
He hasn't been handed such routine chances to face off against the first NFL team he ever suited up for, let alone see the field consistently enough to make it worthwhile. He's made three appearances in 2025, throwing for 279 yards and tossing as many touchdowns as interceptions with three apiece.
Taylor's only played the Ravens once in his decade outside of Baltimore, squaring off against old friend Flacco in 2016's Week 1, his first appearance since making his Pro Bowl debut the season before. He'll look to avenge that 13-7 loss this weekend, while the Ravens will attempt to extend their win streak to five against one more underwhelming AFC squad.
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