Ravens believe in Bateman

Per beat writer Jeff Zrebiec, the Ravens believe WR Rashod Bateman is “ready to break out.” That’s clearly not a stretch, as Baltimore just dealt Marquise Brown after using a Round 1 pick on Bateman in the 2021 draft. Zrebiec adds, however, that the Ravens will “likely” add a veteran WR “at some point.” We’d bet against any available veteran significantly altering Bateman’s 2022 role. But there are some intriguing names still available, most notably Julio Jones and Will Fuller.

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.

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 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 HC John Harbaugh announced Thursday that WR Rashod Bateman will have season-ending surgery for the Lisfranc injury to his left foot. That leaves Devin Duvernay and Demarcus Robinson as the team's top 2 wideouts. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that WR DeSean Jackson is also expected to be active for Monday night's game against the Saints. Rookie TE Isaiah Likely should see more opportunities as well, even after Mark Andrews is healthy. Losing Bateman certainly doesn't help QB Lamar Jackson, who's passing numbers have dipped since Bateman originally went down against Buffalo.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh says WR Rashod Bateman will miss "a few weeks" with the foot injury he aggravated in Thursday night's win over the Buccaneers. That span does include the team's Week 10 bye, so we'll see just how many games he misses. Although it's been frustrating to this point -- thanks primarily to the foot injury -- we'd hang on to Bateman where it makes sense. Baltimore has the 2nd-best remaining schedule for WRs. That finishes especially nicely: at Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, vs. Atlanta and vs. Pittsburgh weeks 14-17.