A costly lesson arrived before any medical update. The league hit Rashod Bateman with a $25,154 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct after he directed abusive language toward an official in the win over Miami.

Flags and fines don’t alter his importance in Baltimore’s spacing-heavy passing attack, but they do underline John Harbaugh ’s year-to-year refrain about poise when the whistle blows.

Roughly a week later, the conversation shifted from discipline to durability. Bateman left the next game with an ankle issue and was seen in a walking boot afterward. Jamison Hensley reported that the wide receiver is dealing with a sprained ankle .

Harbaugh sounded cautiously optimistic, saying, “I think he’s going to be OK. We’ll see how serious it is going forward.” That tracks with the early re

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