Will Mark Andrews Remain a Raven?
The 2024 Baltimore Ravens seemed like they had a better roster than their 2019 or 2023 counterparts, where they earned home-field advantage in both seasons, combining for a 27-6 record but 1-2 in those two playoff runs. In 2024, the Ravens struggled to begin the season, starting 0-2 despite the addition of Derrick Henry and some key rookies like Roger Rosengarten and Nate Wiggins. They finished the season 12-5, beating the odds of playoff teams who started 0-2, but again fell short of the Super Bowl after a loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round. The season ended like it began, Isaiah Likely proving himself to be a worthwhile fourth-rounder out of Coastal Carolina, while Mark Andrews struggled to get targets, catches, and be the productive Pro Bowler Ravens fans have seen since coming into the league with Lamar Jackson in 2018.
Mark Andrews was drafted out of Oklahoma in the third round of the 2018 draft, two rounds after the Ravens selected South Carolina TE Hayden Hurst, who did not meet the expectations set by the Ravens front office. Andrews began as the fourth tight end on the depth chart behind Hurst, Maxx Williams, and Nick Boyle, but quickly became a security blanket for Joe Flacco and eventually Lamar Jackson. In seven years with the Ravens, the three-time Pro Bowler recorded over 5,500 yards, 51 touchdowns on 436 receptions, earning himself a first-team All-Pro nod in 2021 when he had over 1,000 yards for the first and only time of his career. However, the playoff version of Mark Andrews seems completely different compared to the guy with sure hands and the ability to make defenders miss.
In 2024, Andrews was non-existent in the first five weeks, bringing in 10 receptions for 120 yards with zero trips to the endzone, but blew up, finishing with 673 yards and a team-high 11 receiving touchdowns on the year. In addition to the constant playoff struggles by the entire team, Andrews has recorded 29 receptions for 315 yards and zero touchdowns across all eight playoff games where he was active. In the most recent playoff heartbreak versus the Buffalo Bills, Andrews had five receptions for 61 yards, a lost fumble, and a dropped two-point conversion, all but sealing the game for Buffalo and subsequently having some fans call for Mark Andrews’ job. Three months later, the sadness has dissipated, but the questions still remain: Was this playoff game the last straw? Is Mark Andrews regressing? Is it time to move on and trade the 29-year-old tight end? John Harbaugh says no.
Speaking at the NFL owners meeting in March, Harbaugh shot down the trade rumors surrounding Mark Andrews. "I do fully expect [Andrews] to be playing for us next year. He's just too good a player,” Harbaugh said. "We'll see what happens, but my plans are that we've got Mark, we have Isaiah, we have Charlie [Kolar], we have Pat Ricard all in place doing all those jobs." Andrews, Likely, and Charlie Kolar are all entering a contract year in 2025, and fans wish to continue having the strongest tight end room in the entire league. However, with the absence of salary cap space, it seems inevitable that one or more will end up walking in free agency.
General manager Eric DeCosta addressed similar rumors in a pre-draft press conference earlier this week but remained non-committal by saying, "I never know what's going to happen," DeCosta said. "... But I can tell you this, Mark Andrews is a warrior, and he's played his butt off for us. And his competitiveness, his talent, his attitude, [and] his leadership is so valued here. And he's a great player. I think we're in the business of keeping as many great players as we can. So, there's always a lot of unpredictability with the draft. You just never know.”
The Ravens are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to re-signing Andrews or Likely, assuming they are unable to resign both. If the Ravens decide to let Mark Andrews walk after the 2025 season and re-sign Likely, the Ravens would most likely be awarded a third-round compensatory pick for the 2027 NFL Draft. Considering the market that would undoubtedly be interested in a high-caliber player like Mark Andrews, the Ravens would have to believe that they can get a package that gives them more value than a singular third-round pick. If Andrews is traded or even released, which is almost ridiculous to even type, the Ravens would gain $11 million in cap space as his contract has no guarantees for this season.
Andrews is by far the more productive of the three tight ends and has seven years of chemistry built with Lamar Jackson, but Likely has been extremely reliable when teams are focused on Andrews. This is comparable to JuJu Smith-Schuster having a breakout season in 2018 with the Steelers when secondaries were more focused on Antonio Brown. Likely is almost five years younger and has the potential to become a primary tight end with a little more development and a lot more responsibility. At the end of the day, the Ravens would have a fraction of the success achieved since 2018 without Andrews, but would it be easier to gain capital for a star before he turns 30? Or run it back and let him decide if he wants to stay in Baltimore?
