Zay Flowers injury: Who will step up if Ravens star WR misses Week 2 matchup against Saints?

Flowers did not participate in Baltimore's first two practices this week

Sep 17, 2026 at 3:09 pm ET • 3 min read

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.

Ravens offense without Zay Flowers and Ja'Kobi Lane

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. Who will step up? Tight end Mark Andrews figures to be a major focal point. He finished second on the team last week in receptions (four) and has the most rapport with quarterback Lamar Jackson out of all the available targets on the roster.

At wide receiver, journeyman Chris Moore is the next man up. After starting the season on the practice squad, Moore was active for Week 1's win, where he hauled in one catch on two targets. The team again signed him from its practice squad on Wednesday, coinciding with Lane's placement on IR. 

"Major shoutout to Chris Moore," coach Jesse Minter said after the win. "We decided to activate him for the game, and he had a career high. I think he had 174 all-purpose yards. It's just a credit to the depth in that room."

Alongside Moore, Rashod Bateman is the next-best option to lead the Ravens' wide receiver group. The sixth-year veteran saw just one target in the opener but has been a mainstay in the lineup for half a decade and is just two years removed from a nine-touchdown season.

Beyond that duo, experience is limited. Minter and Doyle will have to challenge the trio of Devontez Walker (who will make his season debut after missing Week 1 with a groin injury), LaJohntay Wester and rookie Elijah Sarratt to step into expanded roles in the rotation.