In his first offseason with the New York Giants, John Harbaugh has been collecting former Ravens players like infinity stones. Between Isaiah Likely, Pat Ricard, ArDarius Washington, Jordan Stout, Daniel Faalale, and Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants signed more ex-Ravens than Lamar Jackson has playoff wins.
And that doesn't even count the many Baltimore assistants he reunited with. Harbaugh has taken the belief of "bring in your guys" a little too seriously. But I'm not complaining. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach with one of the best-run organizations in the NFL. We have to trust his judgement.
You can't harbor a grudge against the vision of a Super Bowl-winning coach, but that doesn't mean every marquee move the G-Men make should involve the Ravens. They've been linked to several players he coached in Baltimore, but there's one specific guy New York should steer clear of.
Trading for Rashod Bateman makes no sense for the Giants or Ravens
While floating one trade candidate for every NFL team, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton floated Rashod Bateman as a player who could be available. But another unproductive depth receiver is the last thing Big Blue needs right now.
"Last offseason, the Baltimore Ravens signed Bateman to a three-year, $36.8 million extension, but he fell back into an afterthought in the passing game," Moton wrote." In 2025, Bateman caught 19 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. And once again, he was plagued by injuries, missing four games."
It's understandable the Giants need receivers with Malik Nabers sidelined, but trading for Bateman would render the WR signings they made this week obsolete. They brought in OBJ, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Braxton Berrios to compete for a roster spot in camp, and still have Malachi Fields, Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin, and Darnell Mooney competing for snaps.
The 2021 first-rounder from Minnesota a career-high 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, and got a major payday, but he was held under 400 receiving yards for the fourth time in five seasons in 2025. And you can chalk this up to injury, but he really isn't that good and wouldn't net much in a trade anyway.
Moton noted that the Ravens drafted quality two wideouts in the 2026 Draft in USC's JaKobi Lane and Indiana's Elijah Sarratt, so the 26-year-old's role is far from secure even if he's healthy. And the same could be said with the G-Men, who spent a good chunk of the offseason revamping their own WR room.
Just because Baltimore has someone on the block doesn't mean Harbaugh will come calling, because truthfully, the Giants have no place for a guy like Rashod Bateman.
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