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 Rashod 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.
According to PFF, Bateman’s option amount for the 2025 season would be $14.34 million, which would be a $10 million increase from his current $4 million cap hit. As a result, he would have the seventh-highest cap hit for the Ravens in 2025.
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 QB Lamar Jackson’s expectations of him being a redzone monster.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, Bateman was selected with the 27th overall pick, and it was anticipated that he and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown would combine to make a potent duo.
Due to injuries, Bateman missed the first five games of the season, which put him behind schedule. With 46 catches and 515 receiving yards at the end of the 2021 campaign, he set new career highs in both categories.
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 Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers 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.
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 grabbing Georgia’s Ladd McConkey is included in Spielberger’s piece. The Ravens have plenty of capital to address the position during the draft because they presently have nine draft picks.
