The Baltimore Ravens got one of the best performances of the season from their talented rookie WR Zay Flowers against the San Francisco 49ers on Christmas Day.
Unfortunately, Flowers picked up an injury during Monday’s win that could affect his playing status — and the fantasy football outlook of the Ravens offense — heading into their matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Let’s take a closer look at the most recent injury update we have for Flowers heading into Week 17.
Latest Injury Update on Zay Flowers
Editor’s note: Flowers missed practice again for the Ravens on Thursday.
The Ravens’ leading receiver in the reception and receiving yards categories picked up a calf injury amid his nine receptions for 72 yards and a score against the 49ers on Monday night, which has already had an impact on Flowers’ preparation time heading into the team’s upcoming game against the Dolphins.
According to the team’s injury report, Flowers was listed as a non-participant for Wednesday’s practice due to the calf injury.
For some context, he was limited to starting the week of practice last week due to a foot injury but ended up logging two full practices ahead of Baltimore’s game on Christmas before playing one of the best games of his rookie year.
Will Flowers Play This Week?
Flowers has been the poster boy for durability dating back to his collegiate days at Boston College, having never missed a game during his four years as a Golden Eagle. He has also yet to miss a contest through the first 16 weeks of his NFL career.
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Flowers’ absence from practice to start the week is certainly noteworthy, but fantasy managers shouldn’t panic quite yet. If he can get back on the practice field before the end of the week then he should have a strong chance to take the field in Week 17 after playing 78% of the offensive snaps against the 49ers.
What Does This Mean for Odell Beckham Jr., Nelson Agholor, and Rashod Bateman’s Fantasy Ranking?
The Ravens’ passing game has spread the ball around quite a bit this year, but the most consistent producer has undoubtedly been Flowers.
He leads the team in targets (105), receptions (74), and receiving yards (752), which still makes him a WR2 heading into their matchup against an improved Dolphins defense since CB Jalen Ramsey has entered the starting lineup.
If Flowers were to miss his first game of the year on Sunday, the biggest beneficiary would likely be Odell Beckham Jr., who has scored three touchdowns over the last seven games while managing to top 90 yards receiving on two occasions during that period. Beckham would jump into the WR3 range if Flowers is inactive against Miami.
Other players who potentially would see an expanded role if Flowers is unable to play include Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor, who both have 28 receptions and over 300 yards receiving this season.
Flowers has averaged seven targets per game this year, which would certainly help boost the fantasy value of other Ravens wideouts if these vacated targets are forced to go to other pass catchers.
With that said, none of these options would jump inside my top 30 at the WR position with Flowers out of the lineup.
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