Breaking: Ravens Agree Deal To Sign Former Derrick Henry $12.0 Million Teammate

In Baltimore, Derrick Henry’s transition team might be augmented by an old friend.

Veteran receiver Josh Reynolds is headed to Baltimore for a visit with the Ravens on Friday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday. After playing for the Detroit Lions for the last two complete seasons, Reynolds is a free agent.

Having been selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round of the draft, Reynolds has played in the NFL for seven seasons. In 2021, he also had a brief appearance on the Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry, a former NFL running leader who just decided to sign a free agent contract with the Ravens, was Reynolds’ teammate there.

Reynolds would undoubtedly be worth the gamble on his own. During the course of 13 games with the Lions last season, he hauled in 40 passes for 608 yards and five touchdowns. Reynolds, a powerful route runner with good stature, might wind up taking the place of the noteworthy wideout that Baltimore recently cut go.

Analyst Believes Ravens Will Decline 5th-Year Option on Former 1st-Rounder

With the major wave of free agency coming to a conclusion, teams will focus mostly on the NFL draft, keeping the idea of fifth-year options in the back of their minds. The Baltimore Ravens must choose whether to exercise wide receiver Rashied Bateman’s option.

Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus examined every first-round selection from the 2021 draft class and whether or not teams would select the fifth-year option in a piece he authored.

Spielberger predicted a decline for Bateman and the Ravens in “PFF Prediction: Decline.” “This one could be really tough,” he said in his writing. Bateman has struggled with a variety of ailments and has vanished from the field.

The benefit of having further control over a talent through a fifth-year option is the reason why teams will either choose a quarterback with a greater ceiling or trade back into the first round.

PFF reports that Bateman’s option amount for the 2025 season would be $14.34 million, an increase of $10 million over his current $4 million cap cost. He would have the seventh-highest cap hit for the Ravens in 2025 as a result.

The first-round pedigree that Bateman shown while a member of the Minnesota Gophers has not been met. With just four touchdowns in his career, he falls short of Lamar Jackson’s expectations of him being a redzone monster.

Rashod Bateman Has Not Lived up to the No. 1 Role

The assumption going into the 2021 NFL Draft was that Bateman and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown would combine to produce a potent 1-2 punch. Bateman was selected 27th overall.

Due to injuries, Bateman missed the first five games of the season, which put him behind schedule. With 46 catches for 515 receiving yards at the end of the 2021 campaign, he still set a career high.

Although he is only 24 years old, he still has time to develop into a significant asset, but thus far, his efforts have not been fruitful.Bateman has not performed well since 2021, when he was the third-leading receiver in terms of yards and catches.

He was out for most of the 2022 season and was limited to only six games due to injury. With the addition of Zay Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr. to an already run-heavy offense in 2023, he found himself further down the hierarchy.

With Beckham leaving before the 2024 season, Bateman might have one more opportunity to leave his imprint. It will be intriguing to watch whether Eric DeCosta takes a chance and decides to take the option or lets the receiver play during a contract year.

Patrick Queen, a linebacker, had a spectacular year and signed a nice contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the Ravens declined to pick up his fifth-year option.

DeCosta has until May 2 to decide whether he wants to pick up the option.

Ravens Still Need to Build out the WR Corps

Other than re-signing Nelson Agholor to a one-year contract, DeCosta hasn’t taken any action this offseason to address the wide receiver group. Flowers, Agholor, and Bateman are the only three wide receivers with substantial playing experience as Beckham is unlikely to make a comeback.

“He’s still a clear top-two wideout on this roster alongside 2023 first-round rookie Zachary Flowers,” Spielberger said on Bateman, “but his 46 receptions and 515 yards from his rookie season remain his career-best marks.”

Such kind of career highs would not justify a $14 million cap hit and are not acceptable for a No. 2 wide receiver on a club hoping to make it to the Super Bowl.

Although there are still decent receivers on the market, the Ravens may choose to choose heavily in the 2024 wide receiver draft class if they don’t want to spend money.

A fake screenshot of the Ravens stealing Georgia’s Ladd McConkey is featured in Spielberger’s piece. The Ravens have plenty of capital to address the position during the draft because they presently have nine draft picks.