Zay Flowers Cleared to Play vs. Cowboys in Rio — SkimNews
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- Zay Flowers was activated for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro after a 20-minute pre-game workout convinced the Ravens his left hamstring could hold up; he had previously been expected to be a game-time decision.
- Flowers had not practiced Wednesday or Thursday and was a limited participant in Friday's walk-through in Brazil, and was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report after aggravating the hamstring in the season opener.
- Flowers is expected to be limited to 20 to 30 snaps in his return, per NFL Network, giving Lamar Jackson his top target for the first time since the first half of the Week 1 win over Indianapolis.
- Baltimore's offensive production splits sharply with and without Flowers this season: four touchdowns on five drives when he plays, versus three touchdowns on 16 drives when he doesn't.
- Flowers racked up a career-high 150 receiving yards in the first half of the season-opening 43-21 win at Indianapolis before the hamstring flared up — the most by a Ravens player in 11 years — and then sat out last week's 24-17 loss to the Saints.
- The Ravens signed Flowers to a four-year, $140 million extension last month, making him the fourth-highest-paid wide receiver in the league at $35 million per year on average.
Why it matters: Flowers' availability directly reshapes Baltimore's offensive ceiling: he accounts for four touchdowns on five drives this season, versus three on sixteen without him. With Lamar Jackson missing his top target since the first half of Week 1, the $140 million extension the Ravens handed Flowers last month was a bet hinging on this exact 20-minute pre-game workout holding up.
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