On the eve of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens made some minor news in extending WR Rashod Bateman. A former first-round draft pick, Bateman hasn’t yet lived up to his potential. However, this new extension is a sign of faith in the big target and their expectations for his role in the offense.
Entering the third year of his rookie contract, the Ravens signed him to a two-year extension through 2026. They elected to offer this extension a week before they needed to decide on his fifth-year option. Details of the extension are not yet known, but presumably, it’s cheaper than the fifth-year option.
For the record, Bateman’s cap hit for 2025 would have been $14,345,000 under a fifth-year option. As a reminder, fifth-year salaries are fully guaranteed as soon as they’re exercised, no longer only for injury. I’m willing to bet the Ravens are not paying him $14 million per season on this new deal.
The 27th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Bateman has shown flashes but has struggled to find consistency. Injuries have hindered the early portions of his career, missing most of the 2022 season, for example.
Through three seasons, Bateman has a total of 93 receptions for 1,167 yards and four touchdowns in 34 games. He has struggled with some drops at times, but not egregiously so. The 2024 season should be his healthiest since entering the NFL, however.
The Ravens believe that there is a lot of untapped potential in their 6-1 wideout, despite remarks a year ago that Bateman took to indicate otherwise. Complementing Zay Flowers, last year’s first-round wide receiver, Bateman can deliver big plays in their passing game. They will still feature a heavy dose of rushes—they wouldn’t have signed Derrick Henry in free agency otherwise—but they began a process last season to work to expand the passing game.
QB Lamar Jackson averaged more than 28 pass attempts per game even though they usually held a lead for most of the game. They finished the 2023 season as the clear number-one seed after leading the NFL in rushing.
Flowers proved the Ravens’ leading wide receiver with 858 yards on 77 receptions and five touchdowns. Odell Beckham Jr. acted as their WR2, Bateman finishing sixth on the team in receiving yards. Despite playing 16 games, and over 600 snaps, he only caught 32 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown.
With Beckham gone, the Ravens want Bateman to take his game to the next level. He is, I believe, only the second wide receiver drafted by the Ravens to sign a second contract. Only Mark Clayton and Jermaine Lewis played for more than four seasons.
Bateman surely knew that the Ravens would not pick up his fifth-year option, but there was talk of a trade. The Ravens previously traded former first-round WR Marquise Brown during the draft a couple of years ago. It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers Bateman signed for, knowing he could be hitting free agency in March.
