John Harbaugh hints at Rashod Bateman's return date to Ravens camp

Folks visiting the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills on Wednesday got to enjoy a nice afternoon of football practice, the first one of the Baltimore Ravens training camp ahead of the 2023 season.

Yesterday, three of the most prominent members of the organization took to the mics including head coach John Harbaugh, quarterback Lamar Jackson, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

One of the main storylines entering the training camp portion of the pre-season is the situation and potential "hold-in" of running back J.K. Dobbins. Another one, the absence of wide receiver Rashod Bateman from the field after he entered camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Bateman trained with the team earlier this summer through OTAs, but he suffered a setback during minicamp and received a cortisone shot in his foot, forcing him into the PUP list.

Clifton Brown and Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com, quoted Harbaugh through his presser saying that "Both of those guys are dealing with things that are kind of side issues to their recoveries," Harbaugh explained.

That said, the coach said that none of the two has suffered setbacks. "Bowser's Achilles is fine. Bateman's Lisfranc surgery is good. But with that, sometimes other areas compensate and get a little sore. That's what we're dealing with."

Bowser returned to the field at the end of last season following an Achilles tear in 2021, but knee issues flared up this offseason that prevented him from hitting the field. Consequently, he began camp on the non-football injury (NFI) list.

Harbaugh, however, reassured fans that both players' primary injuries are on track with their respective recoveries.

"There are some timelines with that. I don't really want to share them right now, but they're reasonable timelines and we'll be excited when they get back."

There you have it. Bateman missed reporting to training camp on schedule last week but reported one day later clearing all drama and rumors about a potential holdout. While not handing a solid and set-in-stone timeline, Bateman should be on the field sooner rather than later.

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