Zay Flowers is looking highly unlikely to suit up for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, dealing a significant blow to their passing game as they prepare for a massive international matchup. The Ravens are clearly playing it super safe with their wideout, sidelined ever since exiting Week 1 with a hamstring injury.
The Hamstring Headache and Rio Trip
This hamstring issue is a real headache for Baltimore. Flowers skipped practice again Wednesday, which screams “doubtful” for Sunday. The Ravens fly out to Rio De Janeiro *tonight* to face the Dallas Cowboys. If Flowers isn’t on that plane, he’s inactive for sure. Even if he makes the trip, that’s no guarantee he’ll hit the field. Hamstrings can linger, man, and rushing it is bad. The team’s playing it safe, which crushes if you’re counting on him. We might be looking at Week 4 before we see him.
Bateman Blows Up While Others Stay Quiet
With Flowers limited to basically just one half all season, guess who’s stepped up in a HUGE way? Rashod Bateman! When Flowers was out in Week 2, Bateman’s snap count shot up to a whopping 93%. And the targets? He went from a single uncatchable target in Week 1 to an insane 7 catches on 9 targets for 88 yards and a touchdown in Week 2. Yeah, you read that right. He was the biggest beneficiary of Flowers’ absence, without a doubt. No other wide receiver on that team even caught more than one pass last week. Seriously? There’s always a chance someone else steps up, but based on what we’ve seen, it feels like a long shot. Bateman is clearly the guy you gotta watch.
Andrews and Jackson Still Elite Options
Even with Flowers sidelined, Baltimore still has serious weapons. Tight end Mark Andrews has seen more targets than anyone else on the squad with Flowers playing limited snaps. Through two games, Andrews has hauled in 10 of 13 targets for 98 yards. He is absolutely a viable starting tight end option and should be locked in as a low-end TE1. And then there’s Lamar Jackson. Look, he’s a high-end QB1, no matter what. Sure, he looked his absolute best in the first half of Week 1 when Flowers was going off, but you can’t bench this dude. Last week he still slung it for 235 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, plus added 34 yards rushing. He’s just too talented to sit, period. Don’t even overthink it; he’s gotta be in your lineup.
This Flowers injury is a bummer, no doubt, but it’s really showing who can pick up the slack early in the season. Keep an eye on that flight tonight to Rio. For the game against Dallas, all eyes are on Bateman to see if he can keep that 🔥 going, with Andrews and Jackson still steering the ship. This early season form is setting the tone, and it’s wild to see who emerges when the pressure hits.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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