Mark Andews and Lamar Jackson
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Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews and quarterback Lamar Jackson.
If there’s one thing missing from the Baltimore Ravens offense in 2024, it’s any semblance of production from the tight end position.
That’s only surprising because headed into the season it was clear the Ravens had perhaps the best 1-2 duo at the position in the NFL with 3-time Pro Bowler Mark Andrews and an up-and-coming star in Isaiah Likely.
Things took a turn when Likely fractured his foot at the end of July — an injury that should keep him out until the end of September at the earliest.
Things have taken another turn through the first 2 games with Andrew seemingly disappeared from the offense — just 2 receptions for 7 yards as the Ravens are off to a 1-1 start headed into a prime time Week 3 home game against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football.
Andrew’s lack of productivity hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“(Andrews) used to be Lamar Jackson’s favorite target, but he has a total of four targets despite tight end Isaiah Likely being sidelined with a foot injury,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on September 17. “Andrews, 30, just isn’t getting many opportunities, running 38 routes, which ranks 24th among tight ends. It’s difficult to think Andrews’ target share will increase going forward, especially with Likely expected to return in the next couple of weeks.”
Andrews Ended 2024 Season On Career Lowlight
Andrews has been one of the NFL’s elite tight ends for most of the last decade with his 3 Pro Bowls and an NFL All-Pro nod in 2021, when he had 107 receptions for 1,361 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Those accomplishments have mostly been forgotten because of how last season ended.
In an NFC Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills, Andrews not only lost a fumble in the fourth quarter that set up a score, he dropped an easy catch on a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game with 1:33 left in the game.
It’s OK to wonder what that type of nightmare performance might due to a player’s psyche and despite his teammate, led by Jackson, rushing to his defense.
Andrews, who is in the final season of a 4-year, $56 million contract extension, even became the subject of trade rumors in the offseason. If Likely comes back and picks up where he left off in 2024, it’s not hard to see how those rumors could start back up again.
Likely Massive Payday On The Way For Likely
Likely opened the 2024 regular season with 9 receptions for 111 yards and 1 touchdown in a 27-21 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 that established him as a focal part of Baltimore’s offense.
Still playing in a complementary role to Andrews, he finished with 42 receptions for 477 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Ravens selected Likely in the fourth round (No. 139 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft out of Coastal Carolina. He’s currently in the final season of his 4-year, $4.16 million rookie contract.
Spotrac projects he’ll receive a 3-year, $30.7 million contract, but that number seems low. Likely should be in line for something closer to the 4-year, $52 million contract extension recently signed by Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.