Baltimore

Ravens

Hensley called the second-year wideout “the front-runner to be Baltimore’s No. 4 wide receiver” job. It’s not much, but that would be a drastic improvement over the role Walker played as a rookie. He appeared in nine games and caught one pass, a 21-yard score in Week 15. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Walker was drafted as a developmental vertical threat and simply wasn’t ready to take on a meaningful role as a rookie. Coaches and reporters have talked him up this offseason, allowing dynasty managers to leave the light on for him in 2025.

Mitchell returned from a devastating knee injury late last season but clearly wasn’t trusting his knee completely at that point. Zrebiec also adds that Mitchell is “far too explosive not to get utilized.” That doesn’t necessarily mean Derrick Henry’s workload is getting scaled back a bit, but a healthy Mitchell certainly puts that into the range of outcomes if he performs well.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Alexander can make another $2 million via incentives. Green Bay explored trade options for the disgruntled corner this offseason and also made an offer to keep him in town on a restructured deal, but nothing came of their efforts. They eventually chose to release Alexander after no other resolution was found. As they tend to do, the Ravens quickly swooped in to sign the former shutdown corner. Alexander has still been effective when on the field in recent seasons, but his health has been a constant issue and was reportedly a source of frustration for the Packers organization. He has appeared in more than seven games just once in the past four seasons. Baltimore’s pass defense was a disaster over the first half of the 2024 season before turning the corner over the final two months. Bolstering the secondary with Alexander should help prevent a potential backslide in 2025.

He did respond to a media member saying John Harbaugh’s idea of Jackson being the NFL’s highest-paid player by noting “it sounds good.” It’s not thoroughly surprising that Jackson is not forthcoming about the status of negotiations with the Ravens. We expect the sides will continue to negotiate as the offseason drags on, and all sourced reporting indicates that they should reach agreement at some point.

Zrebiec is not forecasting a major role growth for Walker, who is stuck behind Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and DeAndre Hopkins in three-wide sets. But it’s possible that Walker comes to training camp and turns heads. Walker’s roster spot, if anything, looks fairly secure at this point in time. Walker played 57 offensive snaps last year and caught a 21-yard touchdown in three targets.

The comment comes during an NFL Insider’s spot in which Rapoport broke down the Ravens’ need to extend and restructure Lamar Jackson’s current deal. One week ago, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he wants to see Likely “be an All-Pro” this season, helpfully providing the 25-year-old tight end with positive commentary for the negotiating table. Likely has proven himself as an above-average receiver at the position but has been limited by his sidekick role behind Mark Andrews. Hopefully, all this talk about lofty expectations and a big payday signals a breakout campaign for Likely. He is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season, and if Harbaugh plans to feature him in the passing attack, it would make sense for the team to get a deal done beforehand.

Rapoport suggests that extending Jackson well before his contract’s scheduled end following the 2027 season was all part of the plan. The Ravens inserted “really high” salary cap numbers partway through the deal, in order to facilitate Jackson’s $72.8 million prorated signing bonus. Indeed, his hefty $43.5 million salary cap number in 2025 looks small compared to the consecutive $74.5 million salary cap hits scheduled in each of the next two seasons. Signing Jackson to an extension would help free up salary cap space and allow the Ravens to “potentially do” some other deals, including an extension for TE Isaiah Likely.

For reference, Mitchell was clocked at 20.99 mph during his 2023 rookie season. It’s common for players to claim that they have made substantial physical gains every offseason, regardless of their actual gym habits and rehab program successes. An albeit pad-less 1.41 mph increase certainly suggests that Mitchell has successfully rebuilt his once compromised knee. Mitchell averaged 7.8 carries, 1.5 targets and 11.3 PPR points per game (RB32) during his Weeks 9-15, 2023 hot streak. Derrick Henry’s presence likely prevents Mitchell from returning to that same usage peak, but Mitchell has a chance to become fantasy-relevant if he can come close.

Speaking on the BMore Baseball Podcast, DeCosta mentioned that he met with Jackson in person last week. DeCosta, however, didn’t make it sound like a deal was getting done anytime soon. Jackson signed a five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens in 2023. He is under contract through 2027, so DeCosta doesn’t have to rush the extension. With the price of elite quarterback play skyrocketing, the two-time MVP is rightfully eying a raise. That may not come this offseason, but the Ravens aren’t going to let Jackson hit free agency when the time comes. They placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson last time his contract was set to expire and he publicly requested a trade. Even though an extension was eventually reached, DeCosta flew dangerously close to the sun while trying to get the most affordable deal. He described those negotiations as arduous and it’s hard to imagine him not getting ahead of the situation this time around.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal includes $20 million in guarantees. The former first-round pick hasn’t lived up to the hype of being the No. 27 overall selection, but he finally found his stride in 2024. Bateman caught 45 passes for 756 yards and nine touchdowns. His yardage and touchdown totals were easily career-highs. Bateman has settled in as a splash play specialist and a high-volume option in the red zone. His five red zone touchdowns tied Isaiah Likely for second on the team behind only Mark Andrews. Bateman is a frustrating fantasy option on a week-to-week basis, but the extension could signal more involvement for him in 2025, especially with Mark Andrews on the decline. Bateman will be a boom/bust WR5 for the upcoming fantasy season.