Week 2 put the Ravens’ passing game under a harsh spotlight, and it wasn’t pretty. Once Zay Flowers went off the field, Baltimore’s attack started to fall apart, and the second half of a 24-17 loss to the Saints made that clear enough. Lamar Jackson finished that half 8-for-15 for 64 yards and capped the game with a crushing interception to safety Julian Blackmon on the final drive.
The problems only deepen when you look at the last six quarters. With Flowers and rookie Ja’Kobi Lane injured, Baltimore has had a much harder time finding answers in the air.
Only three pass catchers - Bateman, Andrews and Moore - have topped 50 receiving yards in that span, and only Bateman and Andrews have cleared five catches. Jackson’s line tells the same story: 250 passing yards and a 61% completion rate.
New Orleans didn’t exactly disguise what it was doing, either. In the second half, the Saints leaned on seven- to eight-man boxes and dared Baltimore to beat them through the air. Bateman did his part and led the receivers, but the Ravens still look like a team that needs another real weapon if they’re going to survive this offensive slump.
That’s where Marvin Harrison Jr. comes in.
Harrison entered the 2024 NFL Draft as the safest receiver prospect in the class, but two seasons into his NFL career, the fit in Arizona looks increasingly strained. He’s been the kind of player who feels like “the right player on the wrong team”.
The raw production is still strong compared with his draft peers. Harrison is tied for first in receiving touchdowns with 12, ranks third in receiving yards with 1,526 and sits third in receptions with 104.
But the usage has been sliding in the wrong direction. He caught 64 passes as a rookie, dropped to 41 last season, and has only one catch on four targets through the first two weeks of this season.
Arizona’s new offensive-minded head coach, Mike LaFleur, is already trying to explain the distribution of touches.
“You also have Trey McBride, who’s one of the best underneath guys in the world, and there’s only 65 plays a game, and you got to run the ball. You got Kendrick [Bourne] who works underneath pretty well too. So everyone’s kinda got their role right there,” said LaFleur when asked how to involve Harrison Jr. in the offense more.
That dynamic raises two obvious concerns. One is whether the Cardinals will even want to pick up Harrison Jr.’s fifth-year option.
The other is that Michael Wilson has become a more prominent part of the picture. Arizona’s third-round pick from a year earlier has also drawn a three-year, $75 million extension, and the offense seems to be locking in around him, Trey McBride, Jacoby Brissett and even rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who got a $53 million fully guaranteed deal that made him the highest-paid rookie running back in NFL history.
Meanwhile, Harrison’s situation is starting to draw league-wide attention. ESPN’s Dan Graziano said the trade chatter is beginning to build.
"Harrison is extension-eligible after this season, and as of now, the Cardinals would have a hard time paying him based on what he's shown in the league so far," Graziano reported. “It's worth watching out for a potential change-of-scenery deal in this case."
For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious. Harrison offers the kind of outside threat and ball-winning ability Lamar Jackson hasn’t truly had since Ja’Kobi Lane arrived. Even with concerns about drop rate and average target separation, there’s still real upside if he lands with the right quarterback.
The comparison making the rounds is George Pickens, who has taken off after leaving Pittsburgh for Dallas. Harrison has shown flashes of that same kind of ceiling, but in Arizona he has been stuck in a limited role, mostly used on deep routes and on throws that have not always been accurate. That’s the kind of issue that tends to show up when your quarterbacks are Kyler Murray and Jacoby Brissett.
There’s also no ignoring the fact that defenses still treat Harrison like a serious threat. Even when the production doesn’t match the billing, the attention he commands matters.
Baltimore, meanwhile, needs more than just a heavy dose of the run game. Derrick Henry can only carry so much of the load before the season wears on him.
The Ravens have been down this road before, too, and not always aggressively enough. One recent example came at the 2024 trade deadline, when Davante Adams was available and Baltimore instead dealt for Steelers receiver Dionte Johnson.
A deal built around Rashod Bateman and a 2027 third-round pick has been floated as a possible fit: Baltimore sends WR Rashod Bateman, 2027 3rd-round pick to Arizona for Marvin Harrison Jr.
That would put Bateman in a different setting where he could play as a WR2 alongside another emerging receiver from the 2023 class and an elite tight end. It would also acknowledge the uncomfortable truth in Baltimore: Bateman, like Harrison, has faced his own questions.
Since being drafted 27th overall in 2021, he has had two fully healthy seasons and reached 500 receiving yards in only two seasons, 2022 and 2024, across his seven-year career. He’s also made clear he’s unhappy with general manager Eric DeCosta.
From Baltimore’s side, the move could be attractive financially as well. DeCosta could wait to see Harrison Jr. in the building before deciding on a fifth-year option, and moving Bateman would clear room because he is on a $12 million-per-year deal through 2029.
For a Ravens team trying to stay afloat until Flowers returns, it’s the kind of low-risk, high-reward swing that makes too much sense to ignore.
In Other News...
Ravens Brazil Game Just Got An Unexpected Halftime Twist
The Ravens trip to Brazil is getting a bigger spotlight than just the football itself, with Ricky Martin set to headline the halftime show when Baltimore faces the Cowboys. Hell be joined onstage by Brazilian funk star Pedro Sampaio, adding a local flavor to a matchup already notable as part of the NFLs push into an international market.
For Baltimore, its another reminder that this game is being staged as more than a regular-season date on the schedule. Martin brings worldwide recognition and prior NFL halftime experience, while Sampaio gives the event a distinctly Brazilian edge, making the midgame break one more part of a night designed to feel like a showcase. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Already Have A Dak Problem Before Rio Kickoff
The NFLs first regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro is already drawing attention before kickoff, with the Cowboys and Ravens set to meet at Maracan Stadium in a showcase that feels as much about the setting as the matchup. Players who saw the field came away saying it was very soft, adding an immediate layer of uncertainty to a trip that was supposed to spotlight two of the leagues biggest brands on an international stage.
Off the field, the pregame presentation has also stirred conversation, especially among Cowboys fans who took issue with the caricatures of Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson displayed around the stadium. Prescotts likeness in particular drew plenty of criticism online for how unflattering it looked, giving Dallas supporters something else to gripe about before the football even starts. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Week 1 Opener Suddenly Has A Serious Brazil Problem
The Ravens Week 1 trip to Brazil is drawing some unexpected attention before either team takes the field, and it has nothing to do with travel or atmosphere. The Cowboys-Ravens matchup at Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium has sparked concerns about the condition of the playing surface, with league and union officials already weighing in on the work being done to improve traction and stability.
NFL Players Association executive director JC Tretter and NFL field director Nick Pappas have both addressed the efforts underway to get the surface ready, underscoring just how closely this one is being watched. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has said he feels confident about playing there, but for Baltimore, the bigger question is whether the field is going to be in acceptable shape by kickoff. [Read more 🡒]