Zay Flowers’ knee injury will keep him out of Wild Card Weekend.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Thursday confirmed Flowers’ status, but he didn’t express much concern regarding Baltimore’s offensive viability without the Pro Bowl receiver available for Saturday night’s game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We still got a lot of weapons and Lamar will distribute the ball as he sees fit,” Harbaugh told reporters.
Flowers suffered the injury when he sustained a blow to his knee while falling to the ground during Baltimore’s Week 18 win over the Cleveland Browns. He was considered day to day at the start of the week, but did not participate in any of Baltimore’s practice sessions prior to Harbaugh’s announcement.
Despite the disappointing news, Harbaugh has plenty of reason to speak confidently on the matter.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson is having a career year as a passer, breaking 4,000 yards for the first time in his career. Flowers led the Ravens in receiving with 1,059 yards and earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2024, but this is a well-balanced attack that can hurt opposing defenses from a number of different angles. Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews each have at least 650 receiving yards and have combined for 20 receiving touchdowns, while Isaiah Likely has added another 477 yards and six touchdowns.
Baltimore isn’t overly reliant on Flowers. They will, however, need to find a way to get his teammates open without his presence on the field. That’s where Derrick Henry — who enters the postseason with 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns to his name in 2024 — will play a key part, forcing defenses to remain honest.
Baltimore hosts the Steelers on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
