Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Ravens RB Gus Edwards will be "partially ready" for next week's minicamp, HC John Harbaugh said. Edwards played in just nine games last year after his 2021 ACL tear and subsequent hamstring injury. But he played in the final seven regular-season games and Baltimore's playoff loss, so it's unclear what's ailing him now. "No setback," Harbaugh said. "Maybe they're being a little cautious, but that's what they're doing." Harbaugh added that Edwards should be "fully ready" come training camp, but his health is worth monitoring this summer.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson expects to throw more and run less under new OC Todd Monken. While that's good news for Baltimore's pass-catchers, it might be bad news for Jackson's fantasy value. For his career, Jackson is averaging 0.59 fantasy points per pass attempt vs. 0.81 fantasy points per rush attempt. Of course, Baltimore's improved WR corps should help Jackson's passing production. And we're ultimately not expecting him to run significantly less than he has over his first five NFL seasons. We'll be keeping a close eye on this new Monken-led Ravens offense this summer, but Jackson looks like a clear top-6 fantasy QB with upside into the top 3.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson participated in Wednesday's OTA session. As ESPN's Jamison Hensley points out, it's Jackson's first time on the field since suffering a season-ending knee injury on December 4. With that injury -- and his contract situation -- behind him, Jackson can now focus on learning new OC Todd Monken's offense and building chemistry with new WRs Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham. His Underdog ADP has spiked into Round 3 since he signed his extension at the end of April.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (foot) was on the field for the start of OTAs on Monday. He's expected to be "eased back into action this summer" after undergoing Lisfranc surgery in November. Bateman has struggled to stay on the field through two NFL seasons, missing 16 of 34 games. But he's flashed when healthy and remains an intriguing prospect. We'll be keeping a close eye on the Ravens offense this summer after they made an OC change to Todd Monken and added Odell Beckham and Zay Flowers to the WR corps.

The Ravens selected Boston College WR Zay Flowers with the 21st pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Flowers dealt with some bad QB play in college. His raw numbers were solid: 2,715 yards and 26 TDs over the past three seasons. But Flowers looks much more impressive from a market-share perspective. He accounted for 32.7% of his team’s receiving yards over the last three years and a whopping 45.6% of the receiving scores. He’s a fun watch on tape: an explosive route runner and dynamic after the catch. The knocks against Flowers? He’s undersized at 5’9, 182 pounds with second percentile arm length. And he’s a four-year college player who will turn 23 in September. The ceiling feels a bit capped here – at least for 2023. Baltimore’s no longer hurting for pass catchers with Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman, and Odell Beckham. Flowers projects outside the top-50 in year one.

The Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson have agreed to a five-year deal that will make him the league's highest-paid player. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that it's a $260 million pact with $185 million guaranteed. The deal comes in a little higher than QB Jalen Hurts' recent extension with the Eagles and locks Jackson in as the Baltimore starter for the foreseeable future. The OC switch and investment in WR Odell Beckham Jr. suggest the Ravens would like to throw the ball significantly more than last year. Baltimore ranked just 28th in pass attempts. Jackson sits seventh in our 2023 fantasy football rankings but continues to sport upside to the top of the position.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson won't be attending the team's voluntary offseason program, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. No surprise here. Jackson has not signed his non-exclusive franchise tag and remains in a contract standoff with the team. We're ultimately expecting Jackson back in Baltimore for at least 2023 and won't be moving him down the QB Rankings unless this situation bleeds into August.

Free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr. has reportedly agreed to terms with the Ravens on a one-year deal worth up to $18 million, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. A separate report from ESPN's Adam Schefter indicated that this deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money. That total is a bit jarring for a former Pro Bowl wideout who spent the 2022 NFL season rehabbing a torn ACL sustained in Super Bowl LVI as a member of the title-winning Rams. Regardless, the WR corps in Baltimore was due for an upgrade, and perhaps OBJ can bring some life to that offense. The biggest issue with projecting this move's fantasy impact is that we don't know who the Ravens' starting QB will be come Week 1. Lamar Jackson remains unsigned and could potentially be traded per the terms of the non-exclusive franchise tag that Ravens GM Eric DeCosta placed on him earlier this offseason. Should Jackson find a deal elsewhere, the Ravens could feasibly position themselves high enough in the 2023 NFL Draft to select a rookie QB, but that's merely hypothetical. The signal-caller on the roster we can most safely assume will be around is Tyler Huntley, a player who failed to surpass 200 passing yards in his five regular season starts in 2022. As of now, it's best to hold off on any "OBJ to the moon!"-type of reaction.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Monday that WR Rashod Bateman "is in a great place" with his recovery from November surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury to his left foot. "He's healthy and going to be running in three weeks," Harbaugh added. It's noteworthy that Bateman still isn't back to 100% nearly 5 months post-surgery. But it sounds like he'll be available for at least part of the offseason program -- and should be ready to roll come training camp. Bateman has been relatively underwhelming through his first two NFL seasons but remains an upside prospect with a clear path to a big role in 2023.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson announced Monday that he requested a trade back at the beginning of March. That likely helps explain the lack of movement on the free agency front, with Jackson on the franchise tag but allowed to negotiate with other teams. Any franchise signing Jackson would have to surrender two first-round picks to Baltimore, so we can assume the Ravens' asking price would be greater than that. The returns on trades for both Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson were greater just last offseason -- and Jackson is (arguably?) a more valuable asset than either player. This situation doesn't seem close to resolution. We're still drafting Jackson at his mid-QB1 price in best ball drafts. But it might be a good idea to worry a little less about stacking him with Ravens pass catchers for the time being.

The Ravens signed WR Nelson Agholor to a 1-year, $3.25 million deal. It's an uninspiring addition for a team that's made a habit of making uninspiring moves at WR. Agholor has yet to reach 900 yards across 8 NFL seasons and averaged just 26.9 receiving yards per game in New England over the past 2 years. He joins Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay and James Proche in Baltimore's WR room for the time being. Hopefully the Ravens aren't done addressing the position.

The Ravens are placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on QB Lamar Jackson. That means Jackson can negotiate with other teams after NFL free agency opens. If he reaches agreement with another team, Baltimore would have the option to match or get two first-round picks from the new team. Given that the two sides haven't been able to agree on a new deal yet, this move makes sense. Now the Ravens can let the market set Jackson's value. We'd still bet on him re-signing, but it'll be an interesting situation to watch. We'll also see whether the uncertainty can push Jackson's best ball ADP down any further. (If so, pounce.)

The Ravens are hiring Todd Monken as their OC. Monken spent the past 3 seasons as Georgia's OC, helping the Bulldogs to National Championships in both 2021 and 2022. The offense improved each season, climbing from 41st to 26th and then to 5th in yards per game. Monken spent the 4 years before that Georgia stint as an NFL OC. The first 3 came with the Bucs, who climbed from 18th in total yards to 9th and then 3rd with QB Jameis Winston. Monken then headed to Cleveland, where his 2019 Browns struggled to a 22nd-place finish in total yards in QB Baker Mayfield's 2nd season. Each of Monken's final 3 NFL offenses ranked higher in pass attempts than rush attempts. All 4 were at least league-average in terms of Pass Rate Over Expected, with the 2017 Bucs finishing at +2% and the 2018 Bucs finishing at +5%. That makes this a fascinating hire considering the Ravens were a run-leaning offense under former OC Greg Roman. We'll keep an eye on Monken's exact plans for the 2023 Ravens.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport believes QB Lamar Jackson will get the exclusive franchise tag. The exclusive tag would allow Baltimore to set the price in a potential deal, while the non-exclusive variety would net the team only two 1sts. Rapoport makes clear that a trade is unlikely, although such an outcome isn’t totally dismissed. An exclusive tag for Jackson would cost Baltimore roughly $45 million.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman is making good progress in his recovery from November foot surgery, HC John Harbaugh said Thursday. "He's going to be ready to soon run at full speed," Harbaugh said. Bateman flashed early this past year with 2-59-1 and 4-108-1 lines to open the season, but a Lisfranc injury to his left foot limited him to just 4 more games the rest of the way. It doesn't sound like that'll be an issue in 2023, though, setting up the 23-year-old Bateman as an intriguing post-hype sleeper. We'll see who Baltimore hires at OC and if that new OC opens up the passing game.

Ravens OC Greg Roman announced Thursday via management firm AthletesFirst that he's "stepping away from the team to pursue other opportunities." Roman's offenses obviously leaned heavily on the run across his 4 years in Baltimore, which made plenty of sense with Lamar Jackson at QB. But Roman's rushing lean predated that stint. All 6 of the previous offense for which he served as OC -- 4 in San Francisco, then 2 in Buffalo -- ranked among the league's top 9 in rushing attempts. Across his 10 years as a coordinator, just 3 Roman offenses ranked lower than 3rd in carries. Only 1 of those 10 finished lower than 4th in rushing yards, and that came back in 2011, his 1st season at the post with the 49ers. We'll see where Roman lands and who the Ravens select to follow him. Of course, the status of Jackson for 2023 and beyond will likely matter even more for projecting both the player and the Ravens offense. Jackson is set to hit unrestricted free agency in March, but we'd be surprised if Baltimore lets him hit the open market. Baltimore's offense promises to be 1 of the more intriguing storylines to watch this offseason.

Ravens TE Mark Andrews snagged 5 of 10 targets for 73 yards in Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati. He tallied chunk gains of 29 and 25 yards alongside a less-than-100% Tyler Huntley. Andrews, 28 in September, is under contract for 3 more seasons. We’ll see if the Ravens can lock up Lamar Jackson long-term.

Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins rushed 13 times for 62 yards in Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati. He saw only 1 more attempt than Gus Edwards (12-39) and added 4-43-1 as a receiver. Afterwords, Dobbins expressed frustration with the lack of carries. "I'm a guy who feels like I should be on the field all the time," Dobbins said. "It's the playoffs. Why am I not out there?” The 24-year-old was specifically referring to QB Tyler Huntley’s 4th-quarter fumble on a goal line sneak. 2023 turns up a contract year for Dobbins.

Ravens QB Tyler Huntley (shoulder, wrist) is active for tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Bengals. NFL Network reported this morning that Huntley is expected to start but that Baltimore might also use QB Anthony Brown. It's a situation to avoid in fantasy lineups.

NFL Network's Stacey Dales reports that Ravens QB Tyler Huntley (shoulder, wrist) is expected to start tonight's Wild Card game vs. the Bengals. He's officially listed as questionable with a wrist issue and what's been reported as tendonitis in his throwing shoulder. Dales hears that Huntley "made good progress" throughout the week -- but adds that there's a "possibility" that QB Anthony Brown also plays tonight. This is a situation to steer clear of in fantasy lineups of all types.