Team news: Baltimore Ravens | Page 7

Veteran free-agent Melvin Gordon reached agreement today on a one-year deal worth up to $3.1 million with the Baltimore Ravens.

Related Players: J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill

Keeping true to their typical backfield deployment, the Baltimore Ravens once again have a loaded running back depth chart, much to the detriment of anyone's fantasy ceiling. A $3.1M contract is certainly not just a camp body, so we should expect Melvin Gordon to have some sort of role on the team by Week 1, though it's certainly not going to harken back to early career levels. J.K. Dobbins was already a back-end RB2 for fantasy purposes, so this may put him more on the RB3 fringe.

The ramifications of the Stefon Diggs minicamp drama could still be playing out, but a player who benefited from Diggs not taking part in OTAs and parts of minicamp was Sherfield, one of the Bills' acquisitions to add depth to the receiver room.

Related Players: Justin Shorter, Deonte Harty, Khalil Shakir

The article continues by saying, Sherfield got increased opportunities as the Z receiver for quarterback Josh Allen with Diggs not present and made an impression in that time, with Allen saying of Sherfield during OTAs, "I've loved what I've seen from Trent so far; the dude works extremely hard. He's one of the hardest-working guys on the team. Doesn't complain about anything. He's rolling right now."

Trent Sherfield is currently ranked in the stratosphere, all the up at WR148 in 4for4's most recent rankings update, but a steady drumbeat could move him into a more reasonable drafting range.

Running back J.K. Dobbins told WJZ-TV on Thursday that he didn't participate in the Baltimore Ravens' mandatory minicamp this week because of his contract situation.

Related Players: Gus Edwards, Justice Hill

Dobbins, a second-round pick in the 2020 draft, has missed more games (27) than he's played (23) in his career. It's hard to see how he has a leg to stand on in this situation, so we'll see how long this mini-holdout lasts.

According to quotes from the article, new OC Todd Monken tried (unsuccessfully) to get Dobbins on the field, but the running back declined. This will likely all blow over but there's still a possibility that Gus Edwards and Justice Hill get better familiarized with the Monken offense and cut farther into Dobbins' already compromised role.

Head coach John Harbaugh said that Rashod Bateman, who sustained a season-ending foot injury last year that required surgery, got a cortisone shot recently, and the goal for him is to continue his rehab and be ready for training camp.

Related Players: Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, Devin Duvernay

The Ravens are set up with probably the best receiving group Lamar Jackson has ever seen at the professional level if everybody is fully healthy. Bateman is currently ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy terms, but that still only makes him a modest WR41. If he can prove that he is fully healthy well ahead of the regular season, we could see him sneak up the rankings a little bit.

Vikings are to officially release Dalvin Cook on Friday. One of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers, Cook is coming off a fourth straight 1,000-yard season and has 52 career TDs. Now he’ll be a free agent at age 27 and will have multiple suitors.

Related Players: Alexander Mattison, Ty Chandler

The move has been long-rumored, so this doesn't come as much surprise. According to talks throughout the offseason, Mattison should be expected to takeover the lead-back role, with Chandler acting as the team's No. 2.

Vikings OC Wes Phillips on whether second-year RB Ty Chandler is ready for an increased role: "I think he's going to have to be."

Chandler probably has the advantage in the competition for the presumptive No. 2 RB spot behind presumptive No. 1 RB Alexander Mattison.

Related Players: Dalvin Cook

Yet more smoke to the fire that is Dalvin Cook playing the 2023 season outside of Minnesota. We're past June 1st, so the news on Cook moving on is presumably right around the corner.

Per Kevin Seifert, "All that remains is for the Vikings to formalize Dalvin Cook's exit, a denouement that seems likely if not completely certain."

Related Players: Alexander Mattison

We've seen the Vikings allow Alexander Mattison to fill in as a 1v1 replacement for Cook in the past but fantasy managers often overlook how Mattison has been thoroughly inefficient with those opportunities over the last two seasons.

Nonetheless, rumors leading up to an eventual trade (hello, Dolphins) will continue to boost Mattison's stock until it finally shoots him up to where we should probably avoid him. At this time, Mattison's ADP is in the 7th round as the RB25.

Rashod Bateman took another step in his recovery from foot surgery, joining the Ravens on the field Monday for the first practice of OTAs.

While Bateman will likely be eased back into action this summer, it's a good sign for an integral part of the Ravens' offense in 2023.

Related Players: Odell Beckham, Zay Flowers, Devin Duvernay

If Bateman is on the field throughout the Summer to learn new Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken's system, there's no reason to believe he won't be the team's WR1. Bateman is a good target in best ball leagues, where his big-play potential has been flashed in the past. He is currently ranked as the WR41 at 4for4, but could be moving up if we continue to get positive reports on his health.

The only change that has happened within the last few weeks is the Vikings’ addition of UAB running back DeWayne McBride in the seventh round of the draft.

While it’s easy to salivate over McBride’s early-down potential, his learning curve will be steep. Pass protection assignments will require study. The Vikings also have faith in Alexander Mattison, whom they re-signed in free agency, and Ty Chandler, whom the team drafted in 2022.

Dalvin Cook has dealt with injuries through most of his NFL career, including an offseason surgery to repair a shoulder injury. An interested team would have to take on his contract which currently makes him the fourth-highest paid RB I'm the league.

He is currently ranked outside of the top-12 RBs in 4for4's rankings.

Per Baumgardner, "Keaton Mitchell has legit “goodbye” speed (4.37-second 40 and 1.5-second 10-yard split) plus a 38-inch vertical at just 5-7, 179 pounds. The obvious limitations are in the size department. When this guy puts his foot on the ground and turns the corner, though, he darn near breaks the sound barrier. He’s gadgety but could be a lot of fun in Baltimore’s offense."

Related Players: J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill

The actual fantasy output of Baltimore RBs always seems to fall below its potential, and a lot of that is, of course, due to how much ground Lamar Jackson soaks up. The odds are very low that Mitchell will produce tangibly during the 2023 season, but he should be an interesting name to keep in mind for deeper dynasty leagues.