Ravens' $36.75 million offensive weapon told to seek change of scenery

The Baltimore Ravens are coming off a disappointing 2025 season, and that could mean shakeups before the 2026 NFL campaign gets underway.

One of those might come out wide after Rashod Bateman's downer of a season.

Bateman signed a three-year, $36.75 million contract with the Ravens last offseason, but then he didn't look anything like the player they hoped to be getting.

ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote in a new article on Wednesday that Bateman seems like a logical player to hope for a change of scenery.

"The idea that Bateman needs a change of scenery might be unexpected considering the Ravens signed him to a three-year, $36.75 million extension before the 2025 season," Schatz writes. "But he had a very disappointing campaign, with just 19 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns."

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Bateman was meant to provide Lamar Jackson with a consistent outside threat, and the year prior, he had done that.

In 2025, though, not so much, with Jackson's injuries not helping the offense's cause as a whole, either.

"A part of his problem last season was that opponents treated Bateman as the Ravens' WR1 because Zay Flowers was in the slot being covered by a nickelback," Schatz writes. "Bateman just isn't good enough to get away from that coverage, and he might flourish with a new team for whom he can be more of a complementary player."

If the Ravens move on from Bateman, it does create a two-pronged dilemma, because they both want to get value in return for him, and then they also have to seek out a replacement for him elsewhere.

But on paper, Schatz makes a good case that at least for Bateman, staying in Baltimore may not be best for his career.

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