Getty Ravens TE Mark Andrews after play in AFC Championship game against the Chiefs.
The Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta had a tough task laid out for him entering the 2024 offseason, and that was to navigate limited cap space while adding to a Super Bowl caliber roster. DeCosta was forced to make tough choices about which players to keep and add, and if the Ravens do not address their cap, they could face a similar situation in 2025.
Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler wrote an article on “Every Team’s Most Important Contract Extension Ahead of 2024 NFL Season,” and for the Ravens he named TE Mark Andrews.
Fowler wrote, “Cap space is an issue in Baltimore in both the present, and future, but locking in Andrews would extend the Ravens’ offensive ceiling in the years to come.”
Andrews is entering the third year of a 4-year, $56 million extension with a $16.91 million cap hit in both 2024 and 2025.
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“Length of extension and monetary details become more and more of a question as players age, but locking in Andrews past his 30-year old season should remain a priority for GM Eric DeCosta,” Fowler wrote.
Andrews will turn 28-years-old during the 2024 season and has been one of the most dominant tight ends in the NFL since entering the league. He has been one of QB Lamar Jackson‘s favorite weapons.
Besides Andrews, the Ravens will have seven other players with 8-figure cap hits, including a $43 million cap hit for Jackson, $25 million for CB Marlon Humphrey, and $22 million for LB Roquan Smith.
Restructuring existing contracts is one of the most common ways to release the tension of a dwindling cap situation and if Andrews will be a prime candidate.
TE Mark Andrews Looking for Bounce Back 2024
Andrews is entering his seventh season in the NFL after being drafted by the Ravens in the third-round of the 2018 NFL draft. Since entering the league Andrews has dominated at the tight end position being named to three Pro Bowls and an All-Pro First Team.
In six seasons, Andrews has 381 catches, 4,857 receiving yards and 40 touchdowns. Hit best season saw him hit 107 catches and 1,361 receiving yards in 2021.
Since 2018, Andrews was no. 3 amongst all tight ends in receiving yards only trailing George Kittle and Travis Kelce. The star tight end has led the Ravens in receiving yards in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
The play on which Ravens’ TE Mark Andrews went down and then limped off:
Andrews was on his way to leading the Ravens in 2023 again before a hip drop tackle by Cincinnati Bengals LB Logan Wilson knocked the TE out for the remainder of the regular season.
Even though he played in only 10 games, Andrews still led the team in receiving touchdowns with 6.
Andrews is a leader both on and off the field for the Ravens and will be key element if they plan to make a run at the Super Bowl this season. The Ravens will look to Andrews to lead their receiving attack again in 2024 and be the weapon they could have been missing against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
Ravens Formidable Duo of Isaiah Likely & Mark Andrews
When Andrews went down against the Bengals there was concern the Ravens receiving group would take a major step backwards. However, that turned out to not be the case as TE Isaiah Likely took a major step forward in Andrews’ absence.
Likely was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft and the Ravens had much hope for him when they drafted him. He has excelled when Andrews has not been able to play and that continued in 2023.
During the 2023 season Likely had 30 receptions for 411 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. 21 of those catches for 322 receiving yards and all 5 touchdowns occurred in the six games Andrews was injured.
Even so, Fowler wrote, “Although the ascension of Isaiah Likely has been a positive, Mark Andrews will remain Baltimore’s top flex weapon as long as he’s in town.”
The hope will be that Andrews and Likely will form a dynamic duo at the position forcing defenses to adjust to two tight end packages. Combined with the continued growth of WR Zay Flowers and addition of RB Derrick Henry the Ravens should have one of the most versatile offenses in the NFL.