The Baltimore Ravens are heading into their bye week, which could not have come sooner. Considering their bye is in week 13, there are only a few later dates they could have a bye. With that in mind, almost everyone on the roster is ready for a week off. However, some players need this week of rest much more than others. Who are they?
5. The Baltimore Ravens rookie can be prepared for a late-season push
The rookie season for Zay Flowers is going about as well as you could expect. He has had some ups and downs, but he was never a flawless prospect, and that was expected. Still, his usage and role have been strong. He finished his first 12 games on a high note, with a two-touchdown performance before the bye week.
Flowers had two touchdowns, but it was an up-and-down game. More than that, his play had not been as crisp as it was in the season's first seven weeks. In those first seven weeks, Flowers averaged 1.91 yards per route run, 8.2 yards per target, and 5.6 catches for 63.1 yards per game.
In the five games since then, he has averaged 1.1 yards per route run and 6.6 yards per target on 3.8 catches for 34.2 yards. Even his last touchdown against Los Angeles was a schemed-up rushing attempt to force him to the ball.
One thing we want to see from Flowers after the bye is beating man coverage and getting targeted down the field more. As a rookie, his season usually is ending or over by now. So, this is a great chance for him to rest and come back strong because the Ravens need him to be a playmaker in their playoff push.
4. The Baltimore Ravens need to give the big man a breather
Michael Pierce is having one of the best years of his career for the Baltimore Ravens. However, if the Ravens want him to be at his best in the playoffs, they need to give him a breather. This bye week should help.
Pierce has played 472 snaps. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, Pierce played just 342 snaps combined. In 2019, he played 483 snaps, which was the second-most in his career. 2017 was the most, which was 594 snaps. That year, he played 54.3% of the defensive snaps, but this year, he is at 57.8% of the snaps. At his current rate, he would finish over 660 snaps this year. So, this is a big step up for him.
Pierce has been good, but the run defense can sometimes have small leaks. The Ravens should try to mix in Travis Jones a bit more, but they should also be thankful that he is healthy and heading into a much-needed bye week.
3. The Baltimore Ravens can get healthy this week
The Baltimore Ravens are primarily healthy heading into their bye week, which is impressive considering where they have been health-wise all season. Still, they do have a few names to monitor. Marlon Humphrey has missed the past two weeks with a calf injury.
Humphrey was limited all last week, so even if there was a game this Sunday, there was a chance he would play. More than that, we would likely see him get one full practice in.
Given this, there is a good chance he will come out of the bye week healthy, which would be a huge addition. Another name to watch is Justin Madubuike.
Madubuike entered the concussion protocol, per John Harbaugh. It is very rare to see a player enter the protocol and come out the following week and play, especially after the recent scares in 2022. With that in mind, if the Ravens did not have a bye this week, you could bet that Madubuike would be sitting.
Still, this now gives him seven days to recover fully from his concussion and come into the following week with the mindset of playing. He could get out of the protocol during the bye week and may not miss any practice. This bye week is huge for these two-star names.
2. The Baltimore Ravens need to see better from Ronnie Stanley
There is no other way to put it: Ronnie Stanley has not been good enough. Stanley gave up a sack to Jonathan Greenard in week one and then left with an ankle injury. He came back in week five but had an awful performance against Alex Highsmith.
He had one of his best games in week six and also played well in week eight, but he had a few bad penalties in week seven, and he allowed a strip sack to Boye Mafe in week nine. Stanley got hurt in week ten and missed week 11. He came back in week 12 but did not look good.
Stanley has had four penalties in the last two games he played, including Cleveland, and Khalil Mack beat him multiple times in a prime-time spot. Overall, he has two solid games and two stints where he missed time with an injury.
The good news is that Stanley can take this time to recover. He may have needed to shake off the rust and get fully healthy in week 12, and now he can get some momentum heading into week 14. Still, it sounds like we have heard this story with Stanley before.
1. The Baltimore Ravens need to use this week to help Isaiah Likely
The Baltimore Ravens essentially gave Isaiah Likely the Mark Andrews role with limited alterations. Likely did well, hauling in four passes for 40 yards in his first start since Andrews went down for the year.
Still, the timing of the bye week is perfect. While Likely can and should do many of the things that the Ravens asked Andrews to do, he is also his own player. The Ravens should work to get the ball in his hands more near the line of scrimmage and let him run after the catch, where Andrews was more of a seam splitter down the field.
This is the perfect time to reflect, self-evaluate, and improve. While the game plan was nice on the fly, the Ravens should get more out of Likley after the bye.