Injury Update: Zay Flowers Playing On A "Pitch Count" Is The Worst-Case Scenario For Fantasy Football

The latest injury update on Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and the fantasy football impact.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers (4) runs with the ball for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Fantasy football owners probably just got the worst possible news about Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers' status for Week 3. It sounds like the team might allow him to play through his hamstring injury, but keep him on a snap count.

Fowler: Zay Flowers (hamstring) likely on a pitch count if active in Week 3.

Pregame workout will determine his status.

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) September 26, 2026

Essentially, they might put him out there with a soft-tissue injury on a field that the teams have been complaining about in Brazil. Hamstring issues are well known to linger and be prone to re-injury.

Not only are they opening him up to a potential re-injury, but they could limit him to the point that he's not a useful fantasy asset. However, they are still putting him out there, giving fantasy owners a potential landmine in their lineup if they are tempted to start him. This is a potential disaster for fantasy football.

Fantasy Impact

WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

With this news, we are benching Flowers whether he plays or not. We have no interest in starting a player whose hamstring is still injured enough to limit his snaps. At best, he will be limited, and no one would be shocked if he re-aggravated the injury and had to leave the game completely.

At this point, we hope the team just gives Flowers another week to heal up, so he's good to go in Week 4. The Ravens obviously don't care about our fantasy teams, but they are taking the same long-term risk as a franchise that we would be dealing with as fantasy owners by putting him out there if he's not fully recovered.

WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

Flowers playing on a snap count would also complicate things for Bateman. It was pretty cut and dry before. If Flowers played, you benched Bateman, and if Flowers was out, you could start Bateman. Now it gets tricky.

We would say that you can still roll with Bateman in your flex, but he does come with more risk if Flowers is active. However, if Flowers is out there at less than 100%, then there is a real chance that he'll be used as more of a decoy, which could actually help Bateman get lighter coverages.

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