Mark Andrews recently became the Baltimore Ravens’ all-time leader in touchdowns, the first to 50 in team history. He entered the 2024 season one behind Todd Heap’s 40, and finished with 11. But will he play another snap for the Ravens in his career? One Baltimore beat writer floated the idea of the team moving on from him this offseason to save cap space.
“To be clear, the Ravens don’t have to do anything with Andrews”, wrote Jeff Zrebiec for The Athletic. “However, he also carries the fourth-highest cap hit on the team at $16.9 million, and he’s one of the few places Baltimore could go to open up a chunk of space. Even with $11 million of savings possible, just releasing him and getting nothing in return seems dubious”.
“Andrews is one of the top tight ends in football and is still 29 years old”, he continued. “But if another team is willing to offer a Day 2 pick for him in a trade that would give the Ravens additional draft capital and significant salary-cap relief, they would have to listen”.
In his seventh season with the Ravens in 2024, Mark Andrews caught 55 passes for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns. That is his lowest yardage total in a full season as a starter, but a career high in scores. While those numbers didn’t earn him a Pro Bowl, he has three in his rearview mirror.
But what else is in his rearview mirror? As Zrebiec points out, the Ravens already have Isaiah Likely, and they’ll have to pay him—but over Andrews?
The Ravens owe Andrews exactly $11 million in 2025, including a $4 million roster bonus due March 17. If they were to actually do anything with him, it would happen relatively quickly, in the next month. They don’t have much cap space, though, and have free agents like Ronnie Stanley and Patrick Mekari.
It seems unlikely, quite frankly, that the Ravens would move on from Mark Andrews, who is Lamar Jackson’s favorite target. They drafted the two together, and their connection has always been strong. While Andrews had a bad stretch to end the season—dropping a game-tying two-point conversion at the end of their playoff run—he feels like a one-helmet Raven.
Last year, the Ravens moved on from some of their starting offensive line and turned to other options. They developed from within and used the draft, and it worked out well. Ronnie Stanley is a player who has been floated as a potential cut for years already, anyway. Andrews has never been in such a position.
Perhaps it depends on their feelings about Isaiah Likely. After three seasons in the league, he is still 24. Last season, he caught 42 passes for 477 yards and six touchdowns. Considering he split targets with Mark Andrews, that’s not shabby at all. Give him another 50-plus targets and he could put up Pro Bowl numbers. And you get a guy who is five years younger on top of that, with less of an injury history. But then why choose if you can have both?
