Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

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.

Bills GM Brandon Beane said that the team envisions WR Deonte Harty filling the “four role." Harty got a surprisingly lucrative two-year, $9.5 million deal from Buffalo, but it doesn't sound like he's slated for an every-down job on offense. (Not surprising considering he's just 5'6 and 170 lbs.) With WR Isaiah McKenzie likely on the outs, Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Khalil Shakir currently project as the Bills' top three WRs. We'll see if they add another WR in the draft.

The Bills are expected to sign WR Deonte Harty to a two-year deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The contract will reportedly include $9.5 million total, with $5 million of that fully guaranteed. Incentives could push it to a $13.5 million max value. Those numbers don't guarantee a significant offensive role for Harty, who has done his best work as a return man. Harty collected 64 total receptions and 15 rushing attempts across four years with the Saints, compared with 152 total returns. He figures to push RB Nyheim Hines out of the primary return role. We'll see if Buffalo plans to let Harty compete with Isaiah McKenzie and Khalil Shakir for more on offense. If it does, Harty's speed would make him an intriguing late-round flier. You can consider him near the end of best ball drafts now for that reason.

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.

The Titans have promoted passing-game coordinator Tim Kelly to OC. 2022 was Kelly's first season in Tennessee. He spent the previous 3 years as Houston's OC. Those first 2 Texans teams had middling finishes in points and total yards under QB Deshaun Watson before sinking to bottom-3 levels in 2021 with QBs Davis Mills and Tyrod Taylor. It's not an overly inspiring hire by Tennessee. Expect the offense to again revolve around RB Derrick Henry in 2023.

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 QB Lamar Jackson (knee) is facing an "uphill battle" to play in Sunday night's Wild Card game vs. the Bengals, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He is working, he is trying, he is rehabbing," Rapoport said. "The knee is just not quite right." Jackson went down on December 4 and was initially expected to miss no more than 3 weeks. He's now 5-and-a-half weeks removed from the injury. We'll get Baltimore's first practice report of the week later today, but it sounds like we should expect Tyler Huntley to be under center on Sunday night.

The Titans fired OC Todd Downing. He deployed slow-faced, run-heavy offenses the past 2 seasons. Tennessee sunk from 17th in total yards and 15th in points in 2021 to 30th and 28th this past year. We'll see who the Titans tab to run the offense going forward -- and if that guy will open up the passing game a bit. RB Derrick Henry turned 29 last week, and Tennessee has a couple of intriguing, young talents in WR Treylon Burks and TE Chig Okonkwo.

Ravens TE Mark Andrews is INACTIVE for today's game vs. the Bengals. Baltimore is clearly conceding this game, accepting its fate as the AFC's #6 seed. Assuming the Ravens don't somehow pull off a win here, the Chargers will be locked in as the AFC's #5 seed.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson's status for the playoffs is "up in the air," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Jackson still hasn't practiced since going down with a sprained PCL on December 4. He reportedly thinks he'll be ready to go next weekend, but the team isn't sure. Jackson's knee is "still not feeling quite right," Rapoport hears. "And because of the way Jackson plays the QB position, because of how active he is, because of how athletic he is, he needs that knee to be 100%." Jackson's status will be the biggest storyline of next week, leading up to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

To no one's surprise, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) has been ruled out for Week 18 vs. the Bengals. HC John Harbaugh said on Friday that "Lamar's working as hard as he can. The trainers are working as hard as they can... That's where we're at. He won't be playing in this game, we're hopeful for next week," signaling a chance we see the former MVP in the playoffs. It's also worth noting that QB Tyler Huntley (right shoulder, wrist) only managed limited practice all week and is listed as questionable. Separate quotes from Harbaugh indicate that Huntley will be good to go, however. We don't feel Huntley is worth much fantasy consideration this week as he's scored less than 13 fantasy points in 4 consecutive games.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) didn't practice on Thursday. As ESPN's Adam Schefter pointed out on Twitter, it's now officially been over one month since the former MVP practiced for played in an NFL game. It's safe to say Jackson's fantasy season is over. Expect QB Tyler Huntley to be under center in Week 18 vs. the Bengals. The Ravens still have a playoff run ahead of them, so perhaps we'll see Jackson under center at some point soon. This'll be a fascinating storyline to track as Jackson potentially heads toward free agency this offseason.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (knee) opened the week listed as a DNP on Wednesday's practice report. Ravens HC John Harbaugh said, "I’m just going to leave all that stuff alone and focus on the game and have the guys ready for the game," when asked about Jackson. That's not a particularly encouraging quote to hear from a coach about their QB. Fantasy managers should probably expect backup QB Tyler Huntley to once again get the nod in Week 18 vs. the Bengals.

Titans RB Derrick Henry (hip) was a full participant in Tuesday's practice. It's confirmation that he'll be ready for roll for Saturday's must-win game vs. the Jaguars.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh said Monday that he's still not sure if QB Lamar Jackson (knee) will be ready to play vs. the Bengals this weekend. "I don’t have an expectation until I hear more today,” Harbaugh said. "I’m just going to listen to the doctors and to Lamar and we’re prepared." The Ravens have clinched a playoff spot, but the Bengals would lock up the AFC North title with a win over the Bills tonight. That might ultimately impact whether Jackson plays this weekend. Stay tuned.

Ravens TE Mark Andrews roped in all 9 of his targets for 100 yards in Week 17's loss vs. the Steelers. The veteran hadn't recorded a game of 10+ PPR points since Week 12 vs. the Jaguars prior to Sunday. Fantasy managers who found their way to the championship round despite Andrews' lack of production were certainly happy to see this resurgence. Fellow TE Isaiah Likely is the only other Ravens' pass-catcher who recorded multiple receptions, hauling 3 of 5 targets for 13 yards and 1 TD. Week 17 is a reminder that despite a shoulder injury and QB Lamar Jackson missing time this season, Andrews remains a top-flight fantasy asset.