Devin Duvernay

Ravens Place WR Devin Duvernay On IR

December 21st, 2022 at 9:17am CST by Sam Robinson

DECEMBER 21: Duvernay broke a bone in his foot, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). This injury will require around two months of recovery time, shutting down the Baltimore starter until the offseason.

DECEMBER 20: The foot injury Devin Duvernay suffered in practice Tuesday will knock him out for the rest of the regular season, at least. The Ravens placed the third-year wide receiver on IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The team has since announced the transaction.

Duvernay went down today with what the Ravens feared was a significant foot injury. After testing, the team is moving its third-leading pass catcher off the 53-man roster. Duvernay would not be able to return until the divisional round, should the Ravens extend their season to that point.

Baltimore has already been without its No. 1 wide receiver — 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman — since he suffered a season-ending foot injury several weeks ago. Duvernay’s injury further sets back a receiving corps that already entered the season under scrutiny. The Ravens have since added Sammy Watkins, bringing the journeyman target back via waivers this afternoon.

Duvernay and Demarcus Robinson have been the Ravens’ top receivers since Bateman’s injury. A former All-Pro return man, Duvernay scored twice in Baltimore’s opener but has seen his production tail off since his hot start. On the whole, the ex-Texas Longhorn has 37 receptions for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Robinson (418 receiving yards) is now the only receiver on the Ravens’ active roster with more than 250 yards this season. Watkins barely cleared 200 during his time as a rotational Packers option this season.

After making offers to multiple veterans during the 2021 free agency period — which ended with Watkins heading to Maryland on a one-year, $5MM deal — and drafting Bateman soon after, the Ravens largely stood down this year. They entered the season with Bateman and Duvernay atop their receiving corps. The team’s under-the-radar Robinson addition — on a league-minimum accord — has proven pivotal. The former Chiefs tertiary target now residing as the Ravens’ No. 1 wideout does well to illustrate the 9-5 team’s dire situation at this position. The Ravens will attempt to make do with their set of veteran wideouts, with in-season additions Watkins and DeSean Jackson supplementing Robinson.

Ravens Claim WR Sammy Watkins

December 20th, 2022 at 3:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Sammy Watkins is returning to Baltimore. Following his Packers exit ahead of their Week 15 game, the former top-five pick will return to his fourth NFL team.

The Ravens claimed the ninth-year wide receiver Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. With Watkins attached to a league-minimum salary, the Ravens will not be on the hook for much money by reacquiring him. Watkins, 29, played for the Ravens last season but joined the Packers in free agency.

The journeyman pass catcher signed with the Ravens on a one-year, $5MM deal in 2021 — after talks with JuJu Smith-Schuster, T.Y. Hilton and Kenny Golladay did not produce any signings — and made contributions as an auxiliary target for Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. Watkins caught 27 passes for 394 yards and a touchdown with the Ravens, playing 13 games. Playing in nine games with the Packers this season, Watkins caught 13 passes for 206 yards.

This news comes as the Ravens are potentially set to navigate another receiver injury. Devin Duvernay left Baltimore’s practice Tuesday with what the team fears could be a significant foot ailment, Pelissero tweets). With Rashod Bateman out of the picture, the Ravens have relied more on Duvernay this season. The former third-round pick has started 13 games this year and has not missed any time. Duvernay is undergoing tests today.

Concern about Baltimore’s receiving corps emerged before Bateman went down, but the team has not seen much consistency from this position group since the 2021 first-rounder was lost for the season. The Ravens signed DeSean Jackson to their practice squad and soon promoted the 35-year-old deep threat to their active roster; he has seven receptions for 134 yards in five games. Watkins’ former Chiefs teammate, Demarcus Robinson, leads all Raven receivers with 419 yards. Duvernay is just behind him with 407.

Injuries have dogged Watkins for most of his career. The Packers placed Watkins on IR early this season due to a hamstring issue. He also battled hamstring trouble in 2020, missing five games because of that ailment during his final season with the Chiefs, and saw a thigh problem sideline him for three Ravens games last year. Although Watkins carries injury baggage, he did contribute extensively during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV-winning season three years ago. Watkins posted 288 receiving yards in three Kansas City playoff games that year.

Still south of his 30th birthday, Watkins can nevertheless be labeled a post-prime player due to his health history. But he has produced at points in recent years. The Ravens, who relinquished their AFC North lead in Week 15 after a loss to the Browns, will kick the tires on a veteran who has experience in Greg Roman‘s system.

Latest On Ravens’ WR Room

July 5th, 2022 at 2:24pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Ravens have frequently been mentioned as one of the teams most in need of an addition at the receiver position this offseason. That has included the team being identified as a landing spot for one of the veterans still on the free agent market.

Such speculation is unsurprising, given the current state of the team’s WR room. Four wideouts can comfortably be slotted in on the 53-man roster, led by 2021 first-rounder Rashod Bateman. He, like Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace, however, lacks NFL experience and a track record of success in the pros. Especially in the absence of Marquise Brown, an addition of some kind has been widely expected since the draft.

Outside of free agency, trades represent another avenue by which the Ravens could an established pass-catcher. On that point, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic opines that it is all-but guaranteed general manager Eric DeCosta has “spoken to teams about acquiring a receiver” (subscription required). A blockbuster deal such as the one involving Brown is unlikely, though, given the team’s sparse salary cap space and run-heavy offense.

Assuming a sizeable move isn’t made in the coming weeks, Zrebiec names Proche as the incumbent wideout best-positioned to see an increased workload. While Bateman is in line to take on the role of No. 1 receiver, and All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews will see a healthy target share, the 2020 sixth-rounder could be in line for a starting spot. He has totalled just 17 receptions to date, but put up substantial production during his college career at SMU.

Given his track record in player swaps (from Brown most recently, to Orlando Brown Jr. last offseason), DeCosta making a trade for another wideout would come as little surprise at this point. Even if that happens, however, the position will remain one to watch throughout training camp and into the start of the season.