Team news: Baltimore Ravens

For Baltimore-Houston:
— Ravens WR Zay Flowers, questionable with a shoulder injury, is expected to play.
— Texans WR Diontae Johnson, just acquired via waivers, is planning to make his Houston debut in Week 18 vs. the Titans. Today is too quick.

Related Players: Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Tylan Wallace

This is a nice Christmas Day matchup for Flowers, so keep him locked into WR2 range if he's ready by kickoff.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that he was optimistic that wide receiver Zay Flowers will be able to play on Wednesday despite a shoulder injury, but the team hasn’t said anything definitive about his status yet.

Flowers moved from being listed as out of practice to limited participation on Tuesday and the team assigned him a questionable designation for their Christmas matchup with the Texans, the story went on to say. Owners counting on Flowers will likely have to make a Christmas Day decision once we know his official status.

The Ravens won’t have to wait long to see Diontae Johnson again.

The NFL’s daily transaction report shows that the Texans have claimed the veteran wide receiver off of waivers. The Ravens cut Johnson last Friday after a brief stint with the team that ended in acrimony when Johnson refused to enter the team’s Week 13 game. The two teams will play each other on Wednesday.

The loss of Tank Dell leaves the Texans shorthanded at WR so the move makes some sense. It's hard to say just when, or even if, Johnson will take the field for the Texans. Even if Johnson plays in Week 17, he just can't be trusted as a fantasy option, especially since it's likely like the fantasy finals for your league. It seems the realistic hope for Johnson would be to get some snaps in before the end of the regular season, and then be a reliable option in the NFL playoffs. Given the news has been mostly negative about Johnson this season, that could be considered a longshot.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman, who was spotted today with a boot on his injured foot, did not practice today and is officially questionable for Saturday vs. Pittsburgh.

Related Players: Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor, Tylan Wallace

It would be a bummer for Bateman if he were to miss, as he's having a career year as Lamar Jackson's favorite deep threat. This could end up bumping Flowers' target share a bit, which would make him closer to a WR2 than a mid-tier WR3.

The Ravens posted the following statement:

"We have mutually agreed with Diontae Johnson to excuse him from team activities this week."

Reports say this is not additional suspension time and the team and Johnson are working through the situation. It seems like a split may be coming sooner than later. Johnson was suspended for one game by the team for not entering the game in Week 13 against the Eagles.

Ravens EVP and GM Eric DeCosta announced that Diontae Johnson’s one-game suspension stemmed from the wide receiver refusing to enter Sunday’s game against the Eagles.

Related Players: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor, Devontez Walker

Yikes. If you haven't already, Johnson is completely free to be dropped to waiver wires for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Harbaugh said that Rashod Bateman has a sore knee and he's getting treatment.
"It's not a long-term thing."

Related players: Diontae Johnson, Nelson Agholor, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Justice Hill

There was no other timetable, according to the post. It's possible Bateman is good to go in Week 15, after the bye this week. If Bateman misses time, it's not likely another WR steps up as a fantasy factor at this point, especially with Andrews, Likely and Hill combining for 21 targets against the Eagles this past week.

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman left Sunday’s game against the Eagles with a knee injury.

Bateman ended up not seeing a single target Sunday in a game where six different Ravens receivers have caught at least one pass.

The Ravens added wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Keaton Mitchell to the offensive mix over the last couple of weeks and they have eyes on expanding both of their roles in Week 11 and beyond.

Johnson played five snaps last Thursday and caught one pass for six yards in the 35-34 win over the Bengals. Johnson played 17 snaps in his first game after being acquired in a trade with the Panthers and head coach John Harbaugh said he’s in line for more work against the Steelers.

Harbaugh said the team plans to ramp up Johnson for this week's game against the Steelers. Those owning Johnson in fantasy may want to take the wait-and-see approach, however, before putting Johnson back into their lineups. We reported on Mitchell's potential increase in work in another news story here on our site.

John Harbaugh said the hope is to work RB Keaton Mitchell more into the offense.

Related players: Derrick Henry, Justice Hill

Mitchell was such an electric player a year ago before tearing his ACL in Week 15. The Ravens are still going to give Henry his carries but Mitchell may be able to eat into Hill's workload at some point. Mitchell returned a kick for 30 yards but didn't get any other touches in last week's win over the Bengals on Thursday night. Harbaugh was quoted in the post as seeing a potential three-headed monster, but it's going to be tough to get touches with Henry, Hill and Lamar Jackson all involved in the running game.