The Baltimore Ravens are already dealing with some issues in their wide receiver room, with Nelson Agholor ruled out on Friday. Still, it could be a lot worse if former first-round WR Rashod Bateman is unable to go.
He was limited with an ankle injury on Wednesday before appearing on the injury report with a foot injury on Thursday. He was unable to practice and was labeled questionable for the game. Bateman was then seen wearing a walking boot after practice, which was a dubious sign of his availability.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Bateman’s outlook for today’s game might be better than it seemed.
“Rashod Bateman had an issue in practice, got rolled up on his foot area during a practice session, had a boot in the locker room,” Fowler said via SportsCenter. “…It’s gonna be up in the air a little bit. I talked to somebody with Baltimore who’s somewhat optimistic that he can go, but nothing official as of yet, so it could be more of a game-time decision here.”
Bateman has been enjoying the best season of his young career. Just last week, he hauled in two touchdowns against the New York Giants. He’s turned into a real deep threat for the Ravens. If he’s unable to go, that takes away an element of their offense. With Agholor also out, the depth could be running thin.
Diontae Johnson was just waived from the roster, which leaves Zay Flowers, Devontez Walker, Tylan Wallace, and Anthony Miller from the practice squad. They also have some impressive tight ends, but the receiver room without Bateman leaves much to be desired.
Bateman didn’t make a big impact against the Steelers last time. He had just two catches for 30 yards on five targets.
Lamar Jackson has been on fire this season as a passer, including five touchdown passes last week. It could end up being advantageous for the Steelers if he has a depleted group of receiving weapons, especially with the Steelers dealing with injuries in their secondary.
Inactives come out 90 minutes before the game, so we will see if Bateman gets a helmet at 3:00 PM/ET later this afternoon.
