Little about Rashod Bateman’s first two years in Baltimore has been normal or expected. Not the injuries. Not the drama with the Ravens’ front office. Not the makeover of a wide receiver room he still might lead.
So the brief moments when Bateman transcends his career’s narrative, when he starts to look like a field-tilting star, tend to stand out. The latest came at Wednesday’s training camp practice, his next step toward a season that’s as much about coming back as it is breaking out. He’d lined up for the final repetition of one-on-ones against the team’s defensive backs. In his way was cornerback Ronald Darby.
Bateman, lined up along the right sideline, could’ve run just about any route. He chose a straight line, motoring past Darby and bringing in a deep shot of about 40 yards.
“It’s felt good to get back out there with the guys,” Bateman said Wednesday, his first meeting with reporters since Lisfranc (foot) surgery ended his second season in early November. “Just still getting the hang of things, so it feels good to get back out there.”
Bateman is not all the way back, not yet. Asked how close to 100% his left foot feels, he said, “99. Very close.” But there have been enough flashes since Bateman returned to camp — one-handed grabs, deep catches in team drills — to suggest his not-quite-best is still better than a lot of others’ absolute best.
Talent has never been in question. A first-round pick in 2021, Bateman had 46 catches for 515 yards and a touchdown as a rookie. He just happened to make his debut in Week 6, his first training camp in Baltimore marred by a groin injury that required surgery.
Last year, Bateman had eight catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns over his first three games. Then, in a Week 4 loss to the Buffalo Bills, another injury. He hurt his foot. Bateman missed the next two games, then tried to play through the pain in Week 7 and Week 8, only to realize, “I couldn’t push through it anymore.” Despite elite efficiency when he was on the field, he finished the season with just 285 yards.
“I ain’t never been through anything like this before,” said Bateman, who’s missed 17 games over the past two years. “Never been hurt [before the NFL], especially two years in a row.”
Bateman’s offseason was not quiet, nor was his rehabilitation straightforward. In early March, he responded to unfavorable comments from general manager Eric DeCosta about the team’s wide receivers, writing in a since-deleted tweet: “Care about US & see what happen.”
Coach John Harbaugh said in late March that Bateman and DeCosta had spoken and indicated they were on good terms. Asked Wednesday about those talks with DeCosta, who will have to decide next offseason whether to pick up the receiver’s fifth-year option, Bateman smiled.
“He said his piece; I said mine,” he said. “We had a conversation, and now we’re best friends. So it’s kind of how things work around here.”
Bateman’s recovery from surgery progressed quickly enough that, by late May, he was participating in organized team activities. By mid-June, he’d had the surgical screws removed from his foot.
But Bateman missed mandatory minicamp after receiving a cortisone shot to reduce swelling in his foot. When he reported for training camp in late July, there was still soreness. When it faded, the Ravens remained patient. Bateman didn’t practice until Aug. 9, two weeks into camp; didn’t participate in seven-on-seven drills until Friday; and didn’t line up for 11-on-11 drills until Wednesday. He likely won’t play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I think this is kind of when we expected him to be back,” said Harbaugh, who called his rehab an “emotional roller coaster.” “That was what the conversation was all along. But you know how it is. It’s always challenging. It’s never easy. I’m just happy that he’s back and he’s practicing and he’ll be ready to go.”
Said Bateman: “These are the cards that were dealt to me, so I got to deal with that. Stay in my lane, keep working, keep grinding. That’s all I really can do, control what I can control.”
The Ravens’ Week 1 wide receiver room will look nothing like how Bateman left it last year. DeCosta signed Nelson Agholor and Odell Beckham Jr. to one-year deals in the first month of free agency and drafted Zay Flowers in the first round.
There’s still room for Bateman, though. In May, quarterback Lamar Jackson called him “Receiver One, for sure.” And, in coordinator Todd Monken’s new offense, the Ravens could pivot to a more wide-receiver-heavy, pass-first approach.
“My teammates still believe in me,” Bateman said. “They know my capabilities. They know what I can do. I’ve done it before. I do it in practice. It just sucks that the injuries been in the way for me to prove it to y’all and everybody else. So hopefully third time is the charm in Charm City. So we’ll see. We’ll see.”
