Sammy Watkins News

The veteran began the year in Green Bay but was released in December. He landed back in Baltimore for his second stint with the club and played an average of 29.8 snaps per game in that span. Overall, Watkins caught 27 of 49 targets for 394 yards and a touchdown and his 8.0 YPT average was his best since 2018 while with the Chiefs. He was on a one-year deal prior to being released by the Packers and will likely hit free agency again this offseason. Watkins will be entering his age-30 season and it's unlikely at this stage that he will be inked to a long-term deal at his next destination.

Making his three appearance for the Ravens since being claimed off waivers from the Packers, Watkins made a couple of splash plays and finished the regular-season finale as the team's second-leading receiver behind tight end Isaiah Likely (eight catches for 103 yards). Watkins played 37 of the Ravens' 75 snaps on offense (49 percent) and appears poised to retain a top-three role in the wideout corps in this Sunday's rematch with the Bengals in the wild-card round.

Watkins played 22 of the Ravens' 52 offensive snaps Sunday, operating as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Demarcus Robinson. The veteran wideout wasn't able to get involved in the offense with limited opportunities on the field. Watkins will look to be more productive in a Week 18 matchup with the Bengals, though it is unclear if Baltimore will have Lamar Jackson back under center.

In his first game with the Ravens, Watkins was only targeted once but his 40-yard reception was the Ravens' biggest play on offense in the contest. The 29-year-old wideout filled in as Baltimore's No. 2 receiver behind Demarcus Robinson with Devin Duvernay (foot) out for the remainder of the season. It's possible Watkins could play a potentially solid role in the Ravens' passing attack, but the team's run-heavy approach will make it hard to trust the veteran down the stretch. Watkins will look to get more involved when the Ravens host the Steelers in Week 17.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Sammy Watkins is available for Week 16's game against the Atlanta Falcons. Watkins is active on Saturday despite being claimed by the Ravens earlier this week. In a matchup versus a Falcons' defense giving up 30.3 FanDuel points per game to wideouts, our models project Watkins to see 1.9 targets. Watkins' current projection includes 1.2 receptions for 12.8 yards.

Watkins isn't returning from an injury and already has prior experience with offensive coordinator Greg Roman's system from their time together in Baltimore last season, so it comes as little surprise that the wideout is on track to have a role Saturday even though he didn't rejoin the Ravens until Tuesday after being poached off waivers from Green Bay. Even if Watkins didn't have prior experience with the system, Baltimore might not have had a choice but to throw him in the fire right away, as an already weak receiver room became even thinner when Devin Duvernay fractured his right foot in Tuesday's practice. With Duvernay now joining Tylan Wallace (hamstring) and Rashod Bateman (foot) on injured reserve, Watkins is set to challenge Demarcus Robinson, DeSean Jackson and James Proche for snaps and targets at receiver.