INDIANAPOLIS — Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who played at Tift County High, is recovering from Lisfranc surgery.
He suffered the injury in a game against Buffalo on Oct. 2. He aggravated the injury when he tried to play against Tampa Bay on Oct. 27.
“Rashod is doing pretty well,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. “It was a pretty serious injury. I think we got out ahead of it to a degree. Rashod and the club, we decided to do the surgery. I think it was probably good that we did it at that point because the injury could have gotten worst.”
Bateman was taken by the Ravens in the first round (27th overall) of the 2021 draft after he starred at Minnesota.
“I’m excited about Rashod Bateman,” Harbaugh said. “You have to remember we drafted Rashod two years ago. Rashod has had a couple of (injuries) the last couple of years, but I’m telling you he’s supremely talented. A supremely determined football player.”
Bateman had core muscle surgery as a rookie.
“He’s doing well,” DeCosta said. “We text quite a bit. He’s very excited to get into the offseason program. We are very excited about him as a player. Can’t wait to see what he can do this year.”
Bateman played in 12 games and made four starts as a rookie. He caught 46 passes for 515 yards and a touchdown. Last season, he caught 15 passes for 285 and two touchdowns when he played in six games and made five starts.
Notes
- Edge rusher Keion White, a possible first-round pick, had a late start to his Georgia Tech career. After transferring from Old Dominion in 2021, he broke his ankle playing basketball. He didn’t debut for Tech until that November. (“My coach was pissed,” he recalled Wednesday.)
White, who has 14 screws, a plate and a TightRope implant in his repaired ankle, said his basketball career is over.
“Basketball is done, at least until after (my) football (career),” White said Wednesday. “Basketball days are over until after I’m done with football. Even there, it’s all triple threat, pump fakes and old-man basketball.”
- Linebacker Charlie Thomas, a Thomasville native, was the other Yellow Jacket at the combine. He said he hopes to show teams his speed and fluidness this week. Thomas likely is a Day 3 selection and will need to play special teams to earn an NFL roster spot.
- Asked about potentially playing for his hometown Falcons, Thomas responded: “It would mean everything. I really embrace being from Georgia. Georgia is one of the best football states in America. So it would mean a lot to play football where I’m from.”
- Thomas said of Brent Key earning Tech’s full-time coaching job: “I think it’ll be a good steppingstone for Georgia Tech. I think they’re going to (make good progress). He’s a good guy, and he knows how to connect with his players. He also knows how to get the best out of them. I feel like that’s a good mix to have as a head coach.”
- Former Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe, a Grayson High product, said he spoke with the Falcons on Tuesday. He’ll attend their local Pro Day later this spring. “It would be huge to stay home and play for them,” he said.
Pappoe, asked about his strengths, shared: “I feel like I’m one of the most athletic linebackers in the draft. Instinctually, I’m sound as well. Taking on blocks. My leadership on the field, being an effective communicator. I feel like teams can trust me to make the calls down there and put the green dot on my helmet (as the signal-caller).”
- Clemson product Myles Murphy, from Hillgrove High, is a projected first-round pick and could go in the top 10. He said a team drafting him will be getting “a very mild-mannered, disciplined guy who’s going to communicate when it’s needed.”
He added: “I’m going to be a communicator on the field. I’m going to be a day-in, day-out guy. A game-day mentality when it comes to practice.”
Murphy had 18.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss in his three-year college career.
- Former Bulldogs linebacker Robert Beal was asked “Who’s next” at Georgia. Beal immediately said linebacker Marvin Jones, who just completed his freshman season (“I feel like he’ll definitely be a player,” Beal said).
- Beal said Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright was the toughest player he faced. Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson also praised Wright, who’s generated some buzz during the pre-draft process.
Beal, who’d been with Georgia since 2018, played with all the recent big names. Asked about possibly reuniting with Travon Walker in Jacksonville, Beal said, “That’d be great. It’d be like a family reunion.”
