The Baltimore Ravens receiving corps might have taken another hit on Wednesday, November 22. According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, “Ravens’ WR Rashod Bateman left practice early today with a foot injury.”
The Athletics’ Jeff Zrebiec, who covers the Ravens, reported, “He [Bateman] went down running a route early in practice. He was looking at his surgically-repaired foot.”
Bateman spoke to reporters after practice about the injury and the receiver downplayed the incident.
Coach Harbaugh on Rashod Bateman:
“It was nothing. It’s something guys coming off injuries deal with time and time-I been holding up strong all year. My foots a little tired, so they let me rest it a little bit for the rest of practice,” the receiver said.
Head coach John Harbaugh also answered questions about the injury, and like the receiver he downplayed it.
“It doesn’t look like a you know real serious injury or anything like that. He should be fine, but we will see how he feels tomorrow,” the coach told reporters.
The receiving group already lost tight end Mark Andrews during their Week 11 34-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off two impressive showings, but he did not practice today (most likely a vet day off).
The Ravens need an all-hands-on deck approach from their receiving group going forward, if they plan to fill the hole that Andrews has left.
Critical Year for Ravens’ Rashod Bateman
Bateman is no stranger to injuries unfortunately during his short career. The third-year player was drafted 27th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Minnesota product was brought in to be a red-zone threat to pair with the speedy Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. The Ravens had high hopes that the duo would be a nightmare for defensive coordinators to prepare for.
However, as a rookie he missed the first five games of the season with an injury. He did finish strong with 46 catches, 515 yards, and 1 touchdown in 12 games as a rookie though.
He was third on the team in receptions and yards behind Andrews and Brown as a rookie. The following season Brown was traded to the Arizona Cardinals before the draft, leaving Bateman as the lead receiver (behind Andrews).
Rashod Bateman is BACK
Well-deserved
The hope being for Bateman to take the next step and replace Brown.
Unfortunately, Bateman only ended up playing in six games that season after he suffered a foot injury. This is the same foot that he was concerned about today when he went down in practice.
The Ravens have added receivers in Beckham and rookie Zay Flowers, which has pushed Bateman down to sharing a third/fourth receiver spot with Nelson Agholor.
He is correct that he has been holding up better season, only missing one game so far this season.
Wednesday’s Week 12 Injury Report Contains a Flock of Receivers
The Ravens Wednesday, Week 12 injury report contained most of the receiving corps on it.
There were four wide receivers listed with a variety of ailments, as well as Andrews who has not been put on IR as of yet, with the hope of a return.
The rookie wide receiver Flowers found himself on the report with a limited practice due to a hip injury. Wide receiver Devin Duvernay was also limited with a knee injury.
Injury Report for Week 12:
Wednesdays are sometimes used to give veterans a day off from practice, so Duvernay and Beckham could just be standard off-days. Bateman hopes to be back at practice tomorrow as well, so hopefully the removal from practice was just a precaution.
Flowers will need to be monitored ahead of the Ravens matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Heavy Sports’ projections powered by Quarter4 give the Ravens a 70% chance of victory over the Chargers, with a 6.5-point expected win margin. The Ravens will need to keep up with the Chargers high octane offense, so having all their receivers would be helpful.
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Ravens News: Veteran Receiver Injures Foot in Practice