OWINGS MILLS, Md. — To say Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers was sensational in the season-opening win in Indianapolis is an understatement.
New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle deployed the two-time Pro Bowl selection in the slot, out wide, and even in the backfield, which led to Flowers setting a career high with 150 receiving yards in just 25 minutes of action. The only thing that stopped him was the sore hamstring that’s hampered him for the better part of the last four weeks. Flowers aggravated it on a 12-yard reception with just under six minutes to go in the second quarter and didn’t return.
With Baltimore already leading by three touchdowns late in the first half, shutting down Flowers was a no-brainer decision, but what it means for his Week 2 availability remains to be seen. Of course, the news wasn’t as favorable for rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, who is reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks after fracturing his wrist in his NFL debut.
“Zay’s probably a little bit more like in the day-to-day range,” head coach Jesse Minter said Monday. “I feel pretty good about where that’s at. We’ll see how the week goes though there. Ja’Kobi may be a little bit longer. We’re getting some more things looked at right now and talking to different people. That’s kind of where those two guys are at.”
Descriptors such as “day to day” and “precautionary” offer hope that Flowers can play against New Orleans in the home opener. He very well could have returned had Sunday been a playoff game, but that’s when you remember there are 16 contests to go — and hopefully a few more games after that — for Baltimore, who looked as formidable as any team in the league in Minter’s debut as head coach.
Flowers hurt his left hamstring in the second of two joint practices with Minnesota last month, which prompted the Ravens to sit him for the next two weeks. He returned to the practice field on a limited basis on Sept. 3 and was able to practice fully by the end of last week, which prompted Baltimore not to list him with a game-status designation for Week 1.
As incredible as the 5-foot-9, 186-pound Flowers looked in Indianapolis, that he couldn’t get through a whole half of football without aggravating the hamstring is a warning to not be too myopic. The Ravens obviously need to take advantage of what appears to be a soft early-season schedule to put themselves in good position in the AFC, but the last thing you want is a diminished version of Flowers — or a more substantial setback that could sideline him indefinitely — for the bulk of the season.
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“There are a lot of thoughts that go into that,” said Minter about the potential challenge of managing the hamstring. “Anytime you’re dealing with things that it’s not enough to really be a major detriment for multiple [games], but you want to make sure that it’s not something you are dealing with for 17, 18 weeks. That’s all things that, as the day-to-day things, we’ll look at and make sure we’re putting Zay in the best position.”
No matter how minor Baltimore’s training staff might believe the setback to be, Flowers playing this Sunday could be ambitious if the argument is to try to mitigate the long-term risk of re-injury. While it wasn’t a coincidence that the Ravens offense didn’t look the same after Flowers departed in Indianapolis, there should still be more than enough firepower to beat the Saints without him, especially with Doyle having a full week to prepare for such a scenario.
The list of veteran wide receivers currently available on the open market isn’t all that appealing, but Minter acknowledged the possibility of an outside addition while noting the short-term opportunity for wide receivers Devontez Walker and Elijah Sarratt, who were both inactive in Week 1. Walker has recently been dealing with a groin injury.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys,” Minter said. “Those guys have had a ton of reps within our offense. Tez was dealing with something minor this past week that we sort of pushed him [back]. Those two guys have a real opportunity to kind of get themselves into the boat, get themselves in rhythm. Then, we’ll look at all options obviously to figure out what’s best for the 70 guys that we have available as we talk about the [the active roster] and the practice squad.”
Of course, Rashod Bateman stepping up is a must after the 2021 first-round pick didn’t register a catch — he did have one wiped away by a penalty — in 53 snaps in Week 1.
“There were a few opportunities there. But I give ‘Bate’ a lot of credit because he played the game the right way,” Minter said. “He ran good routes, and he was open at times. A lot of time, maybe the play didn’t go to him or whatever. But he’s blocking downfield, and he’s being unselfish. I think the offense will show over time that it could be anybody’s big day on any day, so I’m excited about how he played, and I think there are big days ahead.”
