The Baltimore Ravens' season-opening blowout of the Indianapolis Colts might have come at a high cost. Amid a 41-point outburst, the Ravens saw their top two wide receivers hit the bench early due to injuries. Rookie Ja'Kobi Lane is already ruled out for Week 2, and things are trending in the wrong direction for star pass-catcher Zay Flowers, too.
Flowers, who injured his hamstring in the 18-point win, has not practiced in advance of Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. He sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday, and if he logs a third DNP to close out the week, his chances of suiting up against the Saints will be bleak. Any time Flowers misses would deliver a meaningful hit to the Baltimore offense.
In Week 1, the Ravens scored 31 of their 41 points in the first half and came back down to Earth a bit after Flowers exited. He was in the middle of a monster performance before his departure, amassing a career-best 150 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches in the first two quarters. Flowers is already a two-time Pro Bowler but looks poised to jump into an even higher echelon.
He signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension during the offseason that made him the fourth-highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. New offensive coordinator Declan Doyle deployed Flowers in a variety of looks and might be able to unlock the next level of his game once he returns to the field. For instance, only 17 of Flowers' 150 yards came from wide alignment, per Next Gen Stats.
Doyle placed Flowers out wide on just 36.4% of snaps against the Colts compared to the star receiver's career rate of 67.7%, and it may be no coincidence that the shift in alignment coincided with his most productive half of NFL football. Lane landed on injured reserve with a broken wrist, and Flowers is in danger of missing at least one full game with his hamstring problem. Those two absences would leave the Ravens thin at wide receiver and potentially even more dependent on superstar running back Derrick Henry against the Saints.
With his three-touchdown effort last week, Henry showed that he remains capable of putting the offense on his back if needed. He could cash in against a New Orleans team that allowed 156 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 to the Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs. But the Ravens still have to pass the ball.
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