BALTIMORE – Rashod Bateman took a deliberate pause as he considered how to address the one question that keeps coming at him as he goes into his fourth season with the Baltimore Ravens.
If everyone from quarterback Lamar Jackson to offensive coordinator Todd Monken to general manager Eric DeCosta sees potential greatness in the 24-year-old wide receiver, why did he only see 3 1/2 targets a game last season? Did Bateman show everything he could do only for the ball not to come his way?
“Yes and no,” he said Tuesday. “I feel like there’s definitely a lot of things I could’ve done differently as a receiver to help Lamar and help the team. But … yeah. Yeah, I’m just going to leave it at that.”
Bateman elaborated that he intends to worry only about what he can control – staying fit, studying, continuing to get open – as he enters a pivotal year, buoyed by a contract extension and hearing predictions of a breakout from Ravens teammates, coaches and executives.
He was the subject of much speculation coming off his third season in Baltimore, when he was healthy and frequently open but caught just 32 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown – not the production expected from a 2021 first-round draft pick.
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