This is a huge make-or-break season for Rashod Bateman with the Baltimore Ravens. He has been good when he has been on the field, but he has been on the field far too little to have any idea what that means. The Ravens cannot sit around and hope that Bateman will be healthy so they added Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham in the meantime. Essentially if Bateman does not hit this year the Ravens are ready to move on.
Is Rashod Bateman absence concerning for Baltimore Ravens?
The good news is that Bateman should be entering the season healthy, although he suffered a Lisfranc injury earlier in last season. However, he was deemed out for all of the rookie mini-camp after getting treatment for the injury.
According to Jeff Mueller, this is not something that is standard, and would probably only arise due to some sort of concern.
Rashod Bateman is roughly 7 months out from Lisfranc surgery.
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) June 13, 2023
“Got injection for healing purposes” it’s not a normal procedure to simply just give cortisone injections out on a protocol/timeline, so something must be bothering him as he ramps up in his training.
As of right now,… https://t.co/SaJBlQBH04
So, on the surface we are not even at training camp yet. If Bateman is back in a few weeks this is not a big deal at all. On the flip side, every single injury note around Bateman at this point is a big deal. It is a new offense, and both Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham are in there.
Lamar Jackson reffered to Bateman as his number one, but how long until he gets more familair with both of them. More than that, it appears as though setbacks, and injuries are a theme that has lingered with Bateman. It is easy to say that he will be fine in a few wees, but the real thought is what will happen a few weeks from now that will end up causing Bateman to miss even more time?
The Baltimore Ravens were smart to protect themselves, not only with Flowers and Beckham, but also Nelson Agholor. Agholor has stepped in that third wide out role, and he has reportedly had a strong training camp. That is probably because Lamar Jackson us using him as his Bateman for now. However, at some point they will not trust Bateman to be there. That time has not come yet, but another set back is frustrating at this stage.