Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman missed 16 games with injuries over his first two NFL seasons, but the 2021 first-round pick was able to stay on the field for almost all of the 2023 season.
Bateman’s numbers didn’t spike with his increased availability, however. Bateman had 32 catches for 367 yards and a touchdown in 16 regular season games and he caught four passes for 41 yards in the team’s two postseason contests.
That might be the kind of production anyone had in mind given Bateman’s draft position, it hasn’t dimmed head coach John Harbaugh’s expectations for 2024. During a Friday press conference, Harbaugh referenced the possible departures of Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. as reasons to think Bateman will be doing more next season.
“I want Bate to flourish and make a bunch of plays, and he’s going to do that, and I think he’ll be a bigger part of it next year, just by the fact that he was healthy all year this year [and] had a chance to establish himself that way, and he’ll be starting. He’ll be playing all those snaps, and he’ll rise to the occasion,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s website.
The Ravens will have a decision to make on Bateman’s fifth-year option this offseason. It seems unlikely that they’ll pick it up given the way Bateman’s first three seasons played out, but the wideout would be in good position for a new deal if he makes good on Harbaugh’s prediction.