Ravens OC was trying to get Bateman the ball more

Bateman played through the shoulder injury last week. He was limited yesterday, but coach Jesse Minter said he wasn’t worried. Downgrading to a DNP is not a good sign. Meanwhile, Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist) is practicing fully this week and could hop right into WR2 duties for the Ravens.

We won’t know what Bateman’s injury is until the Ravens drop their first injury report of Week 6 later today, but head coach Jesse Minter wasn’t worried. He downplayed the issue and told reporters he expects Bateman to play this week. Barring a setback, Bateman will remain a deep-cut FLEX option for Week 6 versus the Browns.

Bateman had a relatively quiet game until notching 38 yards on three receptions on the team’s final possession of regulation, helping to spur an improbable comeback victory in overtime. The team took the ball with just over two minutes remaining down by eight, eventually driving the field and tacking on a two-point conversion to send the game to extra time. Bateman remains a shaky FLEX option for as long as Zay Flowers remains healthy. He won’t be worth starting in most leagues in a Week 6 meeting with the Browns.

He’ll play. It won’t matter for fantasy football players. Tyler Huntley seems much less likely to randomly connect with Bateman downfield than Lamar Jackson did, and even Jackson was barely doing it much.

Despite being listed as full, Bateman played in a red non-contact jersey per reporters. We suppose this technically qualifies as “fantasy football news” but Bateman isn’t a real threat to do much in Week 5, especially with Tyler Huntley likely under center for the Ravens.

Bateman and WR Chris Moore (ankle) were both limited to begin the week. Neither player will be fantasy-relevant if backup QB Tyler Huntley gets the start in Week 5 against the Falcons though.

As expected, Bateman was reduced back to a lightly used WR2 with Zay Flowers back in the lineup. After going for 7-88-1 on nine targets last week against the Saints, Bateman saw just three targets in Sunday’s win, with one of those resulting in a 31-yard gain. Bateman’s 20 routes run led the Ravens’ in Sunday’s win, but he offers nothing of fantasy value as long as Flowers is in the lineup. Fantasy managers who added him after his Week 2 breakout can send him back to waivers ahead of Week 4’s game against the Titans.

Barring a surprise, Flowers will be a DNP when the team posts its first injury report of the week. Flowers missed Week 1 with the hamstring injury. Head coach Jesse Minter said earlier this week that he has “a good shot” at playing in Week 3, but a DNP today casts some doubt on his optimism. Rashod Bateman would be in line for another solid workload if Flowers remains out. Bateman caught seven passes for 88 yards and one score on Sunday.

Bateman came up in a big way for the Ravens, who were without Zay Flowers (hamstring) and Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist) in this one. Bateman’s nine targets would end up leading all Ravens pass-catchers, and he came up with a big 22-yard touchdown late in the second quarter to extend the Ravens’ lead to 14-6 heading into halftime. It was an encouraging game overall for Bateman, who saw only one target last week while running 27 routes. Despite a strong day, Bateman will be hard to trust in next week’s game against the Cowboys if Flowers is able to play.

Flowers entered the season at the tail end of a rehab program for the hamstring strain he suffered on August 31st. He logged two full practice sessions before dominating the Colts early on in Week 1. Unfortunately, Flowers balled too hard, aggravating the hamstring injury in the process. He is unlikely to play this week, but his return to practice today is a great sign for his Week 3 availability. The Ravens placed WR Ja’Kobi Lane (wrist) on injured reserve this week. This means WRs Rashod Bateman, Elijah Sarratt and Devontez Walker could be asked to step up, although TE Mark Andrews will probably serve as the team’s top pass-catching option.