Ravens News: Zay Flowers Injury
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers got his 2026 season off to a spectacular start in Sunday’s 41-23 Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts, catching 5 of 6 targets for 150 yards and a touchdown, including a 54-yard score, before a hamstring injury cut his afternoon short.
Flowers aggravated the injury on a 12-yard catch with about five and a half minutes left in the first half, grabbing his hamstring after being tackled by Sauce Gardner. He briefly returned to the sideline at halftime but was not part of Baltimore’s first three-receiver set of the second half and was ultimately ruled out entirely. It marked his second bout with the injury this offseason, having already missed two weeks of training camp with a hamstring issue suffered in joint practices with the Vikings before returning to practice Sept. 3.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning that the injury is not considered serious. “He’ll have an MRI, but if it was a playoff game, he likely would’ve returned,” Rapoport wrote. “Flowers is considered day-to-day heading into testing.” Even with that relatively encouraging update, hamstring injuries remain notoriously difficult to predict, and general caution around a quick turnaround is still warranted.
The stakes here go beyond a single game. Flowers agreed to a four-year, $140 million extension with $108 million guaranteed on Aug. 4, a deal that ties him with Justin Jefferson for the highest new-money average per year among wide receivers in the league. Protecting that kind of investment gives Baltimore every incentive to be cautious with his recovery timeline rather than rush him back.
Compounding Baltimore’s receiver troubles, rookie Ja’Kobi Lane also left Sunday’s game with a wrist injury and was ruled out. An initial diagnosis points to a fracture, and he’s expected to miss multiple weeks. With both players out, the Ravens leaned on Rashod Bateman, LaJohntay Wester, and veteran Chris Moore at receiver for the rest of the game, and Bateman in particular looks poised to step into a much larger role if Flowers is limited in the near term.
Fantasy managers will want to track Flowers’ practice participation closely from Wednesday through Friday of Week 2 for the clearest signal of whether he’s able to go against the Saints.
