Sammy Watkins OUT for Week 7 with hamstring injury

Friday PM update: Sammy Watkins is officially out for this week 7 game against the Bengals.

Friday update: Watkins was once again not practicing on Friday, per Jonas Shaffer. He is more than likely out this week against the Bengals, giving Rashod Bateman a good shot at usage.

Thursday update: Sammy Watkins isn’t at practice on Thursday, per Jonas Shaffer. It doesn’t look good for his availability against the Bengals this week.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Sammy Watkins remains out of practice on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. Watkins injured his hamstring in Week 5 and was unable to play in Week 6. He wasn’t put on injured reserve, but he will likely need to get in a limited practice on Thursday to have a shot at playing against the Bengals on Sunday.

With Watkins out last week, rookie Rashod Bateman, who just returned from injured reserve, was able to see a good amount of snaps. He saw 65 percent of the snaps and tied for the target lead with six. Targets are hard to come by in the Ravens offense sometimes, so it was a good start to his season.

Fantasy football implications

If Watkins can’t go, Bateman becomes a fantasy play during the bye weeks. Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews aren’t going away, but Bateman has the ability to put up numbers if he remains one of the go-to receivers for Lamar Jackson this week.