Ravens Sign TE Mark Andrews To Four-Year Contract Extension

The Ravens have signed Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews to a four-year contract extension, checking off one of the biggest items on general manager Eric DeCosta’s offseason to-do list just a week before the 2021 season begins.

Terms were not disclosed, but NFL Network, which first reported the deal, said it’s worth $56 million. Based on average annual value, that would make Andrews the third-highest paid tight end in the league behind San Francisco’s George Kittle and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce.

“Mark is exactly the type of player we wish to keep as a Raven long-term,” DeCosta said in a statement. “He’s competitive, passionate, talented and a leader. We are so excited to have him in Baltimore for the next five years.”

Andrews, who turned 26 on the day the deal was announced, was entering the final year of his rookie contract. Both Andrews and DeCosta this offseason had expressed a desire for an extension to be worked out.

Andrews evolved into quarterback Lamar Jackson’s most reliable and most trusted target almost as soon as the duo arrived in Baltimore as rookies in 2018.

Andrews, a former third-round pick out of Oklahoma, was named to the Pro Bowl in 2019 after leading the Ravens in receiving with 64 catches for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns, the most ever by a Ravens tight end in a single season.

Last year, Andrews tied for the team lead with 58 catches, for 701 yards and seven touchdowns, and he missed two games while on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list.

Andrews’ total of 17 touchdowns in the past two years leads the league among tight ends.

As a rookie in 2018, Andrews caught 34 passes for 552 yards, the most in the league among rookie tight ends.

Andrews’ deal follows similar top-of-market deals DeCosta has orchestrated in the past year with tackle Ronnie Stanley and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. There is still a huge one on DeCosta’s list, though: the looming megadeal for Jackson, who is under contract through next season after the Ravens exercised a fifth-year option on his original rookie deal.

In addition, the Ravens have three other players, including two starters, from Andrews’ draft class who are entering the final years of their rookie deals: cornerback Anthony Averett, safety DeShon Elliott and center Bradley Bozeman.

Some teammates and former teammates chimed in about the extension as well …

Quarterback Lamar Jackson:

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey:

Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown:

Former Ravens tackle Orlando Brown Jr.:

Former Ravens receiver Willie Snead IV:

Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox

Bo Smolka

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