Baltimore, MD – July 3, 2025
There was a moment—quiet, almost invisible to the public—when it all could’ve changed. When Rashod Bateman, a former first-round pick with unfinished business in Baltimore, was nearly shipped off to Dallas. The rumors swirled. The Cowboys, desperate for firepower, picked up the phone. But the trade never happened—and if you ask Bateman, that was no accident.
In a candid moment, the Ravens wideout opened up about the near-miss on a recent podcast appearance. “It was a possibility,” he admitted. “But I told EDC [Eric DeCosta] from the jump—I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
The Cowboys, who eventually traded for the enigmatic George Pickens, had Bateman in their sights early in the offseason. With CeeDee Lamb already in place, the idea of adding Bateman as a smooth route-runner to complement Lamb's explosiveness made football sense. But for Bateman, there was more at stake than targets and stats. There was loyalty. Identity. Purpose.
"It took time, but that’s how it goes with these things," Bateman reflected. “Eric had a lot of deals to figure out. Maybe still does. But for him to make me a priority? That meant everything.”
The Ravens rewarded that loyalty with a three-year extension, a statement not just about cap space, but about belief. Bateman is now locked in as WR2, poised to line up opposite Zay Flowers and behind only Flowers and Mark Andrews in the target tree. Add in DeAndre Hopkins and Derrick Henry, and suddenly Baltimore’s offense looks more dangerous—and more balanced—than it has in years.
What Bateman brings isn’t just routes and hands. It’s chemistry. Timing. A willingness to block, to run decoy routes, to make the hard catches in traffic when it matters. And more than anything else, it’s a hunger to prove he belongs. Not in Dallas. Not as trade bait. But in purple and black, as a Raven.
"Being valued, being seen—that’s all a player ever wants,” Bateman said. “And that’s what I’ve got here.”
The trade that almost was? Forgotten. The team he almost joined? Irrelevant. Rashod Bateman is staying in Baltimore. And he’s got unfinished business to handle.
Stay tuned to ESPN for more Ravens news as the 2025 season approaches.
