Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers will not play in this weekend’s wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after sustaining a knee injury in Week 18.
“He’ll get started again next week and we’ll move forward with the guys we have,” said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on Thursday. “We’re excited about the guys we have, which is everybody else.”
Flowers exited Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Browns after going down hard on a catch-and-run. The 24-year-old receiver immediately grabbed at his right knee and was in visible pain.
He was escorted to the medical tent with a pronounced limp, then went to the locker room.
The Ravens initially announced Flowers as questionable to return with a knee injury, but later downgraded his status to out.
On Monday, Harbaugh said the knee injury Flowers suffered was not season ending and the receiver was considered “day-to-day.”
Flowers, who is in his second NFL season, finished with 1,047 receiving yards and four touchdowns for the AFC North division champions. That production earned him his first career Pro Bowl selection.
“[Flowers] has been a big part of what we do,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous player, but we’ve got a lot of really good players, so it will be divided up, if he’s not able to go. Hopefully, he’s able to go, but I look forward to seeing the other guys play if that’s not the case.”
Should the Ravens beat the Steelers and advance to the divisional round, they would play again Jan. 18 or 19.
