Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Serviceable addition to offense
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Freeman (ribs) had 133 carries for 576 yards and five touchdowns over 16 games with the Ravens in 2021. He added 34 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown on 42 targets.
Baltimore's backfield attrition late in training camp led to the Ravens inking Freeman to the practice squad shortly before the season, and he ultimately got promoted to the active roster. Injuries to both J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards left Baltimore light on experienced options, but Freeman proved to be a shrewd pickup. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry and was effective as a pass catcher, but he struggled to pick up yardage after contact as Freeman ranked in the ninth percentile in that category. The veteran was on a one-year deal this season and will turn 30 this offseason. With Edwards and Dobbins set to return, it's unclear whether the Ravens will keep Freeman or Latavius Murray for 2022.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Suffers rib injury
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Freeman was forced out of Sunday's game against the Steelers with a rib injury.
Prior to his exit from the contest, Freeman carried five times for 21 yards and caught two targets for six yards. In his absence, Latavius Murray will head the Ravens' Week 18 rushing attack, with Ty'Son Williams on hand in reserve.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Effective rushing output
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Freeman ran for 76 yards on 14 carries and brought in his sole target for one yard against the Rams on Sunday.
Meanwhile, backfield mate Latavius Murray saw 11 carries for 31 yards. Freeman has been effective in most games during the 2021 season and should close out the year as the Ravens' lead running back, but his workload is likely capped due to the presence of Murray and the customary rushing workload of Baltimore's quarterback, whether Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley or Josh Johnson. With that said, Freeman gets a favorable on-paper matchup against Pittsburgh in Week 18.
Freeman notched six carries for 17 yards and one touchdown and two catches (on two targets) for three yards during Sunday's 41-21 loss at Cincinnati.
Freeman's six-game streak with double-digit carries came to an end last Sunday in Green Bay, and he now has combined for 15 touches over the last two games, when Tyler Huntley (COVID-19) and then Josh Johnson were forced to throw 40 times apiece. Abandoning the run was more reasonable this Sunday considering the Ravens entered halftime facing a 31-14 deficit. Freeman at least made the most of his limited looks with an end-zone visit in the second quarter. Baltimore will look to get Lamar Jackson (ankle) back under center in time to face the Rams next Sunday, which likely would result in a more balanced game script.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Just seven touches
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Freeman rushed six times for 22 yards and caught his only target for two yards in Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Packers.
Freeman didn't get much going after entering the contest riding a decent stretch of recent play. In contrast, he saw fellow tailback Latavius Murray top him in carries, rushing seven times for 48 yards. Leading them both, though, was fill-in quarterback Tyler Huntley, who carried 13 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Whether usual signal-caller Lamar Jackson (ankle) returns in Week 16 versus the Bengals or not, Freeman will hope he can rebound from Sunday's performance to ensure Murray doesn't further impact his workload.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Logs 18 touches in narrow loss
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Freeman rushed 13 times for 64 yards and caught all five of his targets for eight more yards in Sunday's 24-22 loss to the Browns.
The Ravens lost star quarterback Lamar Jackson (ankle) early in this contest, so the rest of the squad had to rally behind backup Tyler Huntley. Freeman produced his second-highest rushing total this season, but he had a potential touchdown vultured by backup Latavius Murray (one carry, one yard and a touchdown). The 29-year-old has experienced a bit of a career renaissance in Baltimore, averaging 55.1 rushing yards and 19.8 receiving yards with three total touchdowns in the six games since taking over as the team's lead back. Freeman remains a fringe option in standard leagues heading into a matchup against the Packers next Sunday.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Tallies 97 yards from scrimmage
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Freeman took 14 carries for 52 yards and one touchdown and recorded five catches (on eight targets) for 45 yards during Sunday's 20-19 defeat at Pittsburgh.
Since the Ravens' Week 8 bye, Freeman has tallied double-digit rushes in five consecutive contests, averaging 13.8 for 53.4 yards per game. During that same span, all other Baltimore backs averaged 7.2 carries per game. Clearly, Freeman is getting the overwhelming share of RB work, and he supplemented his production on the ground with a season-high receiving mark. He'll look to keep it up next Sunday during a road matchup with the Browns.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Leads RBs in touches
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Freeman had 16 carries for 52 yards and caught his lone target for eight yards in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Browns.
Freeman continues to start for the Ravens, finishing with a 16 to eight carry advantage over backup Latavius Murray. The veteran tailback didn't finish as Baltimore's leading rusher, however, which shouldn't come as a surprise since he plays on a team with Lamar Jackson as its starting quarterback. Freeman remains the back to roster in Baltimore, but he is a bit touchdown dependent after averaging well under four yards per carry over his last three contests. Next week's opponent provides a boost to Freeman's value, as the Steelers have allowed a whopping 133.1 rushing yards per game this season (ranked 28th).
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Remains lead back Sunday
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Freeman rushed 16 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and corralled all six of his targets for 31 yards in the Ravens' 16-13 win over the Bears on Sunday.
Freeman outpaced the returning Latavius Murray (ankle) by six carries and also recorded a season-high reception total. The veteran back's three-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds remaining also sealed the comeback win for the Ravens, and given his overall production Sunday, Freeman projects to remain atop the depth chart during a Week 12 divisional home matchup versus the Browns.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Could work ahead of Murray
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Freeman lined up as the Ravens' starting running back during warmups ahead of Sunday's game against the Bears, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.
Baltimore hasn't officially announced Freeman as its starter, but he looks as though he'll get the first snap out of the backfield over Latavius Murray, who had been starting before missing the previous three contests with an ankle sprain. Though Murray is active for Sunday's contest, he was averaging a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry prior to suffering the injury, so Baltimore may not be incentivized to move him back into a lead role out of the backfield. Freeman was more productive (4.7 yards per carry, two touchdowns) over the three games while Murray was out, so he could headline what may be a timeshare arrangement.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Subdued in upset loss
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Freeman rushed 10 times for 35 yards and secured three of four targets for 23 yards in the Ravens' 22-10 loss to the Dolphins on Thursday night.
While the score remained very close throughout most of the contest, Freeman had only a modest degree of opportunity on the ground and found running room hard to come by overall. The fact Lamar Jackson also had 52 total touches helped limit Freeman's role, although it was encouraging that he recorded multiple receptions for the third straight contest. Freeman's next opportunity to jump back into a more voluminous workload will come a week from Sunday in a Week 11 road matchup against the Bears, but backfield mate Latavius Murray (ankle) could also be healthy by that point and ready to reclaim his share of touches.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Team-high rushing yardage in win
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Freeman rushed 13 times for 79 yards and brought in two of three targets for four yards and a touchdown in the Ravens' 34-31 overtime win over the Vikings on Sunday.
The veteran back teamed up with Le'Veon Bell to form an efficient and effective backfield duo in the hard-fought comeback win. Freeman's 6.1 yards per carry was a season-best figure, and both his rushing attempts and rushing yardage were new high-water marks as well. Freeman's five-yard scoring grab with 19 seconds remaining in the first half also extended his touchdown streak to three games, giving the 29-year-old some intriguing fantasy value heading into a Thursday night Week 10 road matchup against his hometown Dolphins.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Appears set to lead backfield
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Freeman took first-team reps during pregame warmups and is expected to serve as the Ravens' lead back Sunday against the Vikings, Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
With Latavius Murray (ankle) inactive for the second game in a row, Freeman is poised to pick up a start, just as he did prior to the Ravens' Week 8 bye. In Baltimore's blowout loss to the Bengals in Week 7, Freeman played just 39 percent of the Ravens' offensive snaps and earned just seven touches (four carries, three receptions), but a one-yard touchdown was enough to make him a useful option for those that included in him in fantasy lineups. Reserve running backs Ty'Son Williams and Le'Veon Bell are still expected to be involved in the Week 9 game plan, so Freeman's starting role won't be guaranteed to translate to a hefty snap or touch load.
Freeman rushed four times for 14 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for 25 yards in Sunday's 41-17 loss to the Bengals.
Freeman's one-yard touchdown run tied the score at 10-10 just after the two-minute warning in the first half. With Latavius Murray (ankle) inactive, Freeman split carries with Ty'Son Williams (34 yards on four touches) and the ineffective Le'Veon Bell (four yards on six touches), but quarterback Lamar Jackson comfortably led the Ravens rushing attack with 12 carries for 88 yards. Freeman should continue to work as part of Baltimore's running back committee after the team's Week 8 bye.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Projected Week 7 starter
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Freeman is expected to serve as the Ravens' starting running back Sunday against the Bengals after Latavius Murray (ankle) was ruled out for the Week 7 contest, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.
Freeman is poised to become the third different starting running back this season for the snakebitten Baltimore backfield, following Murray and Ty'Son Williams, the latter of whom has since tumbled down the depth chart. After Murray exited in the third quarter of last week's win over the Chargers, Freeman stepped up to produce 53 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, though he couldn't corral either of his targets. Le'Veon Bell also saw a decent amount of involvement, as he played 21 snaps in total and carried eight times for 18 yards and a touchdown. A backfield timeshare could be in the forecast Week 7, but Freeman probably profiles as the best fantasy option among him, Bell and Williams.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Leading rusher with Murray hurt
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Freeman rushed nine times for 53 yards and a touchdown but failed to catch either of his targets in Sunday's 34-6 win over the Chargers.
Freeman led the Ravens in rushing yards, topping Lamar Jackson by two. All three of Freeman, Le'Veon Bell and Latavius Murray got into the end zone, but Murray was later forced out of the game due to an ankle injury. If Murray can't go against the Bengals next week, Freeman -- whose touchdown came from nine yards out in the fourth quarter -- would likely split the backfield workload with Bell, though rookie Ty'Son Williams could also rejoin the mix.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Quiet in limited role
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Freeman had one carry for one yard and caught three of four targets for 34 yards in Monday's 31-25 win over the Colts.
Freeman continues to be a non-factor in the Ravens running game, but he saw some involvement in the passing game for the first time this season. Latavius Murray still looks like Option 1A in the Ravens' backfield committee, with Freeman and Ty'Son Williams mixing in behind him. Even if Freeman eventually supplants Murray on the depth chart, Lamar Jackson's involvement as a runner in the red zone will limit any of the running backs' chances of logging high-value touches.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Playing time on downswing
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Freeman had a four-yard carry Sunday against the Broncos.
Baltimore made Ty'Son Williams a healthy scratch Sunday, but that didn't lead to an increased role for Freeman, as Le'Veon Bell saw more playing time after being elevated from the practice squad. Freeman has seen his snap counts drop from 10 to eight to six in his three active games with the Ravens. It does not appear that Freeman will be ticketed for more than a reserve role in the Baltimore backfield at this stage.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Could be healthy scratch
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Freeman could be a healthy scratch ahead of Sunday's contest against the Broncos after the team called up Le'Veon Bell from the practice squad, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.
It's unlikely the Ravens choose to have four running backs active so Freeman, who largely represents the same skills as a pass catcher and runner as Bell, seems like the obvious choice to sit out especially after playing just nine offensive snaps in Week 3. It's worth pointing out Ty'Son Williams, who struggled mightily in Sunday's win against the Lions, could also be a candidate for the de-facto demotion, especially considering the less-than-complimentary quotes from offensive coordinator Greg Roman after the aforementioned game, but such a situation would still not elevate Freeman into fantasy relevance given his limited playing time.
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Ravens' Devonta Freeman: Big gain in Baltimore debut
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Freeman had two carries for 29 yards Sunday against Kansas City.
The highlight of Freeman's Baltimore debut was a 31-yard rush in which he broke into the open field for a big gain. He had one other carry on the night -- a two-yard loss -- while Baltimore mostly leaned on Lamar Jackson, Ty'Son Williams and Latavius Murray in the backfield. Freeman could become more involved as he gets acclimated to the offense, but he will remain in the third spot on the depth chart for the time being.
