Rashod Bateman To Have Season-Ending Foot Surgery

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman

Getty Ravens WR Rashod Bateman will miss the remainder of the 2022 regular season.

The Baltimore Ravens will be without their top wide receiver for the remainder of the 2022 season after head coach John Harbaugh told reporters that second-year pro Rashod Bateman elected to have season-ending Lisfranc foot surgery.

The 2021 first-round pick reaggravated a foot sprain in Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he has suffered missed two games as a result of earlier in the season. Earlier in the week, Harbaugh said that his injury was more severe than they initially thought and that Bateman would miss a “few weeks”.

He will be placed on season-ending injured reserve and finished his second year in the league with 15 receptions for 285 receiving yards and two touchdowns. When he was healthy, Bateman flashed the playmaking potential of a true No. 1 wide receiver and averaged 19 yards per catch.


Ripple Effect On Roster & Offense

The Ravens were able to come from behind and beat the Buccaneers despite Bateman missing the entire second half because their running game took over and supplementary pass catchers stepped up. Chief among them was rookie tight end Isaiah Likely who finished as the team’s leading receiver in a breakout performance but their other wide receivers rose to the occasion and made clutch plays as well.

All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews is the team’s leader in receptions (42), receiving yards (488), and receiving touchdowns (five) and third-year pro and 2021 All-Pro returner, Devin Duvernay, is right behind with 24 catches for 313 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

They still have veteran Demarcus Robinson and underutilized wideouts James Proche and Tylan Wallace on the active roster. On the practice squad, they have a pair of speedsters at the position with former three-time Pro Bowler DeSean Jackson and former second-rounder Andy Isabella. Harbaugh said that there’s a “good possibility” that Jackson could be making his debut in Week 9 when the Ravens travel to play New Orleans Saints. The 36-year-old pass catcher is ready to step up and perform if the team decides to elevate him.


Odell Beckham Jr To The Rescue?

The Ravens have been linked to the three-time Pro Bowl wideout and 2021 Superbowl champion for months and he even hinted at them being on his short list of contenders that he’d like to play for when healthy.

Beckham Jr. is nearing the estimated return date he set for himself in terms of when he’d be recovered from a torn ACL he suffered in last season’s title game as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. When healthy, he is one of the most dynamic and dangerous playmakers with the ball in his hands and is a complete receiver capable of running every route, gaining instant separation, making contested and acrobatic catches, racking up yards after the catch, and scoring from anywhere on the field.

His addition to the Ravens’ offensive unit that already possesses several skill position players with versatile skillsets. He can run jet sweeps like Duvernay and even open up the playbook to utilize double-pass trick plays to other playmakers down the field for big gains and touchdowns.