The Baltimore Beatdown staff react to the Baltimore Ravens extending wide receiver Rashod Bateman through the 2026 season.
The Baltimore Ravens announced they’ve signed wide receiver Rashod Bateman to a contract extension through the 2026 NFL season. Below are the reactions from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.
Incredible news on the eve of the 2024 NFL Draft. Bateman is an excellent wide receiver and I’m in the camp that he and the offense will put it together this season and flourish. He has the physical traits, the mental acuity and playmaking to be a threat in this offense. And though it didn’t come together last season, I expect big things this year. Bateman has been on the cusp of a breakout. A fresh contract, another year in offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s system and positivity are all swinging in his favor. It’s there to be seized and I have no doubts he’ll produce as the Ravens’ first first-round pick to earn a second contract with the team in their history. — Kyle Phoenix
From trade rumors to becoming the first drafted wideout extended in many years of team history, all within a week.
Assuming the average annual salary is in the $5-6 million per season range, locking up Rashod Bateman on an early extension makes good financial sense for the Ravens. Otherwise, paying up for a player with significant injury issues and questionable chemistry with Lamar Jackson is dubious. With free agent wideout prices skyrocketing and an abundance of talented rookie receivers entering the league every draft now, cycling through rookie contract wide receivers was a viable strategy to maximize talent while minimizing cost.
Nonetheless, perimeter wide receiver remains a high priority draft need for Baltimore. Even 12-personnel based teams need three playmaking wideouts for game scripts that demand 11-personnel. And quality injury insurance is especially necessary for speed-focused positions such as wideout and cornerback. — Vasilis Lericos
This surprise move makes sense for both parties.
The Ravens are evidently betting on their former first-round pick to improve after an up-and-down start to his career. Bateman has shown enough flashes to suggest his ceiling has yet to be approached. However, consistency and staying healthy will be key to him getting there.
If the rumored contract details of around $5-6 million annually are accurate, this is a low-risk financial move for the Ravens to have a potential ascending wideout in-house for the next few seasons. It also mitigates the high cap number that picking up Bateman’s fifth-year option in 2025 would have brought. Bateman and Zay Flowers form a quality young duo at the position. This should not prelude the Ravens from adding more young wide receiver talent in this year’s draft and beyond, though, to continue restocking the pipeline. — Frank Platko
This is excellent and savvy move by the Ravens and general manager Eric DeCosta to lock up one of their top receivers for the additional two years on what could look like a bargain of a deal of he stays healthy and balls out the way they hope and know he is capable of. While injuries have prevented Bateman from popping in the way he looked destined to do after he made his delayed debut as a rookie and before suffering a lisfranc foot injury in the first half of the 2022 season, he has still flashed playmaking potential when he’s been on the field and his tape shows that he is consistently getting open and creating gaping amounts of separation. As long as the offensive coordinator ensures that he is an early read more often in Lamar Jackson’s designed progression, Bateman will have no problem rewarding the team’s confidence in him that this early extension implies. The Ravens might just have the most uncoverable duo in the league for the foreseeable future with Bateman and Zay Flowers who established himself as the No. 1 receiver in the offense as rookie last year. — Joshua Reed
This is an unexpected surprise. And while many “fans” might not like it, I love it. While Bateman may not have met the hype of his draft spot yet, the talent is undeniable and the move makes so much sense.
One, the Ravens had only one wide receiver for 2025 in Zay Flowers. Now, Bateman is here through 2026.
Two, we know the talent is there. While injuries limited his rookie season and cut his sophomore year short, when he did play in those two seasons, he flashed. The 2023 season was a leap forward for him playing the entire year while still recovering from a Lisfranc injury. Another year removed should offer a big step.
Three, the price is going to be good. Without a large season of production and knowing the Ravens, they didn’t overpay for Bateman. Considering his ceiling and the rising wide receiver market, it’s a steal for his talent level.
Lastly, this should allow Bateman to get comfortable. After two season of injuries, seeing a first round wide receiver drafted and after minimal targets last year behind Odell Beckham Jr. and Flowers, with the fifth-year option talk and trade rumors, this is a sigh of relief for him. He spent all last year getting open and not getting targeted. His future was uncertain and there was a lot of messy talk. This should allow him to relax, know he’s a part of this team’s future and build his confidence back up.
This hopefully ends up being a massive steal as Bateman hits his true ceiling this season as a top level wide receiver and potential Alpha-Dog type target. — Zach Canter
If the rumored numbers of the contract are true, the Ravens seem to have gotten a great deal for Bateman. Bateman has had an up and down start to his career. In his rookie season and start of his sophomore year, he showed the potential to be a number one receiver in the league, making timely catches and flashing big play ability. Unfortunately, his second year was ended by a foot injury that has taken a while to recover from.
While his production hasn’t been up to par with his first round draft spot, the film doesn’t lie, and shows his ability to get open consistently. If Bateman and Jackson can continue to build chemistry, there will be no ceiling on his game. He has all the tools to be great, and I expect him to have a healthy and productive 2024 season.
Alongside Zay Flowers, the Ravens will have two young receivers with upside under contract for at least the next three years, a rare occurrence for a franchise that has historically struggled finding receiving talent. — Stephen Bopst
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