Marlon

Brown

Just as we suspected. The injury will not require surgery. Jones is likely dealing with a grade two-plus tear, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan. The Ravens plan to look into the free-agent market for receiver help. They’d prefer to sign one who can also return kicks. Marlon Brown will slide into the starting lineup opposite Torrey Smith. He’s worth an add in all fantasy formats.

Brown was rotating in as the third wideout early on. After Jacoby Jones went down with a knee injury, Brown played every single snap and showed the play-making ability we saw throughout August. The undrafted rookie finished with a 4/65/1 line against the Broncos and had a 10/169/2 line on 161 preseason snaps. Now locked into the second wideout spot for at least the next 4-6 weeks, Brown is a strong add and a plug-n-play WR3 consideration this week. Cleveland projects to use Joe Haden on Torrey Smith, allowing Brown to face off with burnable corners Buster Skrine and Chris Owens.

Lining up primarily at X and slot receiver, Brown played a distant second fiddle to Torrey Smith until a scuffling Baltimore offense got more aggressive in the fourth quarter. He followed an 18-yard reception with a five-yard touchdown to post respectable fantasy numbers for a second straight week. Locked in as a starter until Jacoby Jones (knee) returns, Brown will remain on the WR3 radar when the Ravens host the Texans in Week 3.

Brown played his full complement of snaps in Week 3 but caught just two passes for six yards. We have no reason to believe the injury is serious. Keep an eye on Brown throughout the week. He’s a WR4 this week in Buffalo.

The injury was originally reported as a thigh issue. Regardless, coach John Harbaugh said he thinks Brown has a good chance to practice this week. He needs to stay on the field and perform in order to hold off Jacoby Jones (knee) for No. 2 duties.

Brown sat out on both Wednesday and Thursday after straining his hamstring in last weekend’s loss to the Bills. He’s on the WR3/4 radar against Miami.

He’s tentatively expected to start, but isn’t a fantasy option with Jacoby Jones (knee) potentially stealing snaps, and Brown’s own injury problems.

“Honestly, I can’t even predict when it’s going to be,” said Jones, who sprained his MCL in Week 1 and was slapped with a 4-6 week timetable. Even when Jones gets back, he won’t be a lock to regain his starting wideout job. Marlon Brown is a superior receiver.

The Ravens barely had the ball in the first half as they scored a defensive touchdown and brought back a punt for another score. In the second half, Joe Flacco stared down Torrey Smith and Dallas Clark while also relying on the running game. It resulted in just three targets for Brown, all of the underneath variety. He’ll have bigger games when the Ravens go more pass-heavy -- but that likely won’t be at Buffalo in Week 4.

Brown hasn’t seen more than six targets in any game this season and will be a dicey WR3 play against Houston. The matchup is juicy, however, with Buffalo reeling both in terms of pass rush and secondary play. They got burned up badly by Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill in Week 3.