Ravens’ WR Zay Flowers Opens Up on Injury Recovery: ‘I Got Faster’

Zay Flowers somehow got faster even after sustaining a season-ending knee injury last year.

The Baltimore Ravens wide receiver opened up on his recovery from a knee sprain that cost him both of their playoff games while proclaiming he “got faster.”

The third-year wide receiver from Boston College led the Ravens in receptions (74) and receiving yards (1,059) a season ago but sprained his knee in Baltimore’s Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Yet, Flowers is entering 2025 with a clean bill of health and ready to help the Ravens.

What Did Zay Flowers Say About His Recovery?

Flowers is 5-9, 175 pounds and known for his explosive, 4.42, 40-yard-dash speed.

Yet, somehow even though he has had two extremely productive seasons, Flowers believes he is even better than before his injury.

“I feel better than before,” Flowers said. “I feel like I got faster. I got stronger. I feel better than before I got hurt.

“A lot of people said I got faster, that I got more explosive. I just put the work in and got what I expected.”

The work that Flowers is referencing is running hills with weighted vests as part of his recovery while also improving his speed with straight-line, dash-style running.

“It’s my job, so I might as well [outwork the competition],” Flowers said. “I love my job. I love working. I love playing football.”

Aside from injury recovery, Flowers is still working on the intricacies of playing wide receiver in the NFL. He feels he has mastered crossing routes because of his “explosion” and also believes he is now capable of running any route he might be asked to.

“I feel like I can run every route in a route tree,” Flowers said. “I feel like I just have got to detail the routes and detail the little things, but I feel I can run every route.”

Yet, Flowers is now focused on helping the Ravens get over the hump and to the Super Bowl for the first time since winning it in 2012-13. He was disappointed to not be available for the Ravens’ run to the Super Bowl, which fell short in the divisional round when they lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-25.

But he’s using that as motivation.

“It sucked to miss that time and definitely the playoffs,” Flower said. “You work all season and you get hurt in the last game, it’s definitely motivating me to get back on the field.”

What Did Zay Flowers Say About Playing With DeAndre Hopkins?

Flowers has become the lead dog in the Ravens’ wide receivers room, yet in 2025, he is learning from one of the best to ever play the position, veteran DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with Baltimore, is 33 years old and chasing his first Super Bowl ring of his sure-fire Hall of Fame career.

But aside from trying to win a championship, Hopkins is also successfully mentoring Baltimore’s young, ultra-talented wideouts like Flowers and fifth-year receiver Rashod Bateman.

“I was 11 years old when [Hopkins] started doing this,” Flowers said. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to get the younger guys going. He knows how to get himself going.”