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The 2024 season will be a make it or break it season for not only the Baltimore Ravens franchise but some of their key players. One player in particular is WR Rashod Bateman, who may be on his last chance to prove his worth in the NFL this season.
Baltimore Beatdown’s Joshua Reed wrote on article on “6 Ravens who will have a chip on their shoulder in 2024” and believes that Bateman will have a massive chip entering 2024.
Reed wrote, “The fourth-year pro was awarded a contract extension during an offseason in which he admitted he wasn’t sure where he stood in the eyes of the franchise following an injury-riddled first three seasons in the league after being a first-round pick in 2021.”
Bateman signed a 2-year, $12.87 million extension in the offseason where he will try to prove that he can be a relied upon weapon for QB Lamar Jackson and the offense.
“Bateman will be fiercely determined to prove himself and the front office right by staying healthy and performing to the best of his impressive abilities in 2024,” Reed explained.
The Ravens have struggled at sustaining WR talent in recent years, although WR Zay Flowers may break that chain, and Bateman was expected to break that trend when he was drafted.
Reed wrote, “Living up to expectations can be difficult for many first-round picks, especially at wide receiver where so many are borderline elite right out of the gate these days,” but if Bateman can pull it together in 2024 fans will not have minded the wait.
WR Rashod Bateman Has Flashed His 1st-Round Ability
In today’s NFL so many first-round wide receivers hit quickly and become gamechangers in today’s pass happy league; however, Bateman has struggled to take that step.
Drafted 27th overall in the first round of 2021, the hope was that Bateman would team up with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and form one of the strongest WR duos in the NFL. Unfortunately, things did not turn out the way the Ravens hoped, and Brown was traded to the Arizona Cardinals after the season.
Right out of the gate Bateman dealt with injury concerns in his rookie season and missed the first five weeks before making his debut in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Bateman played in 12 games his rookie season, starting four of them, and put up 46 receptions for 515 receiving yards (still career highs for the Minnesota product). His second season was marred by injuries as he was only able to suit up for six games.
Heading into 2023 there was questions about his place in the group as general manager Eric DeCosta drafted Flowers in the first round and signed Odell Beckham. Bateman was able to play a career high 16 games, but the production did not follow as he only contributed 32 receptions for 367 receiving yards.
Bateman is still only 24 years old and is slotted in as the no. 2 WR currently, but this may be his last chance to back-up his first-round pedigree.
Ravens Bring in Veteran Receiver for Depth
The Ravens made a roster move on Friday, June 28 to add some depth to their WR room. They posted from their X account, “We have signed WR Keith Kirkwood.”
After releasing undrafted rookie free agent Tayvion Robinson on Wednesday, June 26, the Ravens figured to make a move to add to their depth.
Kirkwood is a 6-year veteran that has played for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and the Saints again.
The receiver only has 24 catches for 294 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns but he figures to be a depth piece or special teams’ player if he survives training camp cuts. DeCosta was looking for a more veteran presence and with Kirkwood he could be looking to catch lightning at the same time.
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