The Baltimore Ravens have not played a game since Jan. 6. Some of their key starters have sat idle since the team’s New Year’s Eve game, having by then already secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
And then there is former All-Pro TE Mark Andrews, who last played before Thanksgiving on Nov. 16. He suffered an ankle injury that day following a hip-drop tackle by Cincinnati Bengals ILB Logan Wilson, whom he said he doesn’t blame for the injury that required surgery and landed him on the Reserve/Injured List.
Now into the postseason, however, Andrews is on his way back. He has been a full participant in practice the past couple of days and, at least from the outside, appears to be on track to play on Saturday in the Divisional Round game against the Houston Texans. He is officially listed as questionable. But how close is he, really? Will he be a game-time decision?
“It could go there”, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh acknowledged, via the team’s website, when asked that question. While noting that WR Devin Duvernay should play but CB Marlon Humphrey is less likely (later ruled out), he left Andrews’ status as “up in the air”.
Andrews was off to another very productive season leading up to his injury. Over nine-plus games, he caught 45 passes for 544 yards and six touchdowns, tracking to put up better numbers than he had a season prior.
Drafted in the third round in 2018, the same year the team selected QB Lamar Jackson in the first, Andrews has been one of the top receiving tight ends in the league over that time. He has recorded 381 catches for 4,857 yards with 40 touchdowns over 87 games played. He has been named a Pro Bowler three times and once a first-team All-Pro.
Baltimore has been fortunate to have another capable tight end at its disposal in his absence. Second-year Isaiah Likely stepped up to the plate, catching 21 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns in the team’s final six games, which Andrews missed due to injury.
Barring the regular-season finale in which Jackson and other starters rested, the Ravens offense finished the year on a tear, scoring 30-plus points in three of their final four games. They beat the San Francisco 49ers, 33-19, and then in a battle for the top seed in the conference trounced the Miami Dolphins, 56-19.
It was that victory, securing their position in the postseason, that allowed the Ravens to take it easy in the finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The last time they were in this position, they were eliminated in their first playoff game, back in 2019. But that was a long time ago, with a much younger team. Jackson and Andrews have been through a lot since then.
Will they take that next step together and reach their first conference final? It’s been 11 years since the Ravens were there last. Before either of those players were even in college.
