Mark Andrews will not be testing free agency. For the second time, the accomplished tight end has agreed to a Ravens extension.
The longtime Lamar Jackson target agreed to a three-year deal worth $39.3MM, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports. The through-2028 deal includes $26MM guaranteed. This deal comes months after rumors swirled about an Andrews trade. Instead, the Ravens’ all-time receiving leader has secured a nice guarantee and will stick around.
Baltimore has secured Andrews at a lower rate compared to his 2021 extension. Considering the cap’s rise by nearly $100MM in that span, this represents good value for the team. Andrews had entered the season on his four-year, $56MM extension. This one checks in just south of that in AAV, at $13.1MM. That ranks sixth among tight ends.
The tight end market has not moved too much since Andrews’ first Ravens payday. George Kittle and Trey McBride moved the bar to $19MM this offseason, one that included Ja’Marr Chase dragging the receiver benchmark past $40MM per year. As Andrews’ position continues to make modest gains, the Ravens were able to construct a reasonable third contract to quiet doubts about his future and provide some much-needed clarity on the club’s post-2025 tight end situation.
A March rumor suggested the Ravens could trade Andrews this year, while Eric DeCosta‘s initial assessment of the situation did not assure the top pass catcher in franchise history would play an eighth season in Maryland. That noise quieted, but the Ravens had received trade interest on Andrews this offseason. With the team also interested in extending Isaiah Likely, it certainly looked reasonable Andrews could hit free agency and depart come March.
This extension does come at an interesting point. Andrews turned 30 in September and has seen his yards-per-catch average drop to 9.0. The dynamic tight end had not previously finished a season below 11.5, posting 12-plus-yard averages in all but one year from 2018-24. The Ravens did play without Lamar Jackson for a three-game stretch, and the superstar quarterback has not flashed MVP-caliber form in recent weeks. The Ravens are obviously confident Andrews still has prime form remaining, though it will be interesting to see the full guarantees in this deal.
The Ravens franchise has struggled to identify long-term receiving pieces. Only three players in franchise history have compiled more than 4,000 yards. Two of them are tight ends — Andrews and Todd Heap. Andrews eclipsed Derrick Mason‘s franchise yardage record this season; Mason was a Titans cap casualty who joined the Ravens ahead of his age-31 season. As the team has failed to groom a long-term receiving piece out of the draft — though, Zay Flowers may have something to say about that — it also missed on first-round tight end Hayden Hurst in 2018. Fortunately, Baltimore doubled up at TE in that draft by circling back via Andrews at No. 86.
Andrews has three Pro Bowls on his resume, including a 2021 season that produced 1,361 yards and a first-team All-Pro nod. Considering Travis Kelce and George Kittle‘s primes coming during this period, first-team All-Pro accolades were hard to come by. Andrews added 847 receiving yards in 2022, a second straight year bringing a late-season Jackson injury.
After suffering a major ankle injury in 2023, Andrews returned to play 17 games last season. Although Likely ate into some of Andrews’ receiving opportunities, the enduring presence totaled 673 receiving yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns to help Jackson to a second straight first-team All-Pro nod.
This season, Andrews has just 332 receiving yards. Though, he has scored five TDs. Pro Football Focus also ranks Andrews as a top-20 run blocker at the position. Likely missed the team’s first three games due to injury but has been active since. The fourth-year TE has 18 receptions for 223 yards and no scores. This extension could point the younger option to the market, but Likely re-up talks were believed to be on Baltimore’s docket. A franchise tag was even floated as a possibility.
With Andrews locked down, Likely may well have a chance to test the market. While the Ravens have until early March to negotiate exclusively with Likely, his FA price tag could make a return unreasonable.
Very surprising. Will they keep Likely as well?
I wouldn’t think so. The Ravens are extremely good at evaluating, drafting and developing Tight Ends. They probably resign Kolar and let Likely walk.
Likely has not been same since the injury
True, but still younger and more explosive than Andrews.
I guess the team forgave him for the goal line drop in last year’s playoffs. Their fans don’t seem so generous.
Seems like a good deal. He’s only 30 and can be productive for another 3 years. Likely shows flashes but hasn’t taken that next step, plus he’ll get more from another club in free agency than the Ravens would have offered. Re-sign Kolar, pick up 3rd TE next year via draft or FA, and then draft a TE in the 1st three rounds of 2027 to ultimately replace Andrews.