OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews is on to 2025.
The Ravens All-Pro tight end insists he has turned the page from last season’s disastrous divisional round loss at Buffalo, when he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter and then later dropped a potential game-tying two-point conversion in the Ravens’ numbing 27-25 loss that ended their season.
The Ravens return to Buffalo this weekend for a “Sunday Night Football” showdown that is one of the marquee games of the Week 1 NFL slate.
The game will be the latest showdown between the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, and the player many thought should have won the award, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. But, predictably, given how last season ended, Andrews’ frame of mind has been a hot topic this week.
Andrews met with the media after practice on Sept. 3 and, with a steely gaze, he seemed fully prepared for the onslaught of questions about that 2024 playoff loss and just as eager to stress that he and the team have put it behind them.
“This is a new season,” Andrews said. “I’ve had a full training camp of getting better. It’s a new team. For me, just looking at it, it’s two really good teams going against each other.”
Asked how he can put that loss in the past, Andrews said, “I’m a pro. This is what I do. This is what I love to do. This is my whole entire world. So, for me it’s about focusing, doing my job and just knowing the type of player that I can be in this offense and for this organization and for this city. I’ve never lost sight of that.”
Head coach John Harbaugh said he has no qualms about Andrews returning to the scene of one of his most forgettable games as a pro.
“I think he will handle it great,” Harbaugh said. “Mark’s a pro. He’s been doing this for a long time. He’s been in a lot of tough stadiums, a lot of tough environments to play football. He’s a great football player.”
This is a huge year for Andrews, who turns 30 on Saturday. All three tight ends on the Ravens’ 53-man roster — Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar — are set to become free agents next spring, and the prevailing wisdom is that the most likely candidate for a long-term extension is Likely, who is viewed as an ascending player nearly five years younger than Andrews.
Likely, who has not practiced since suffering a fracture in his foot in late July, is not expected to play in Buffalo. And Andrews has been one of the leaders of the Ravens’ offense and one of Jackson’s most trusted targets since the duo arrived as rookies together in 2018.
After a slow start last season, Andrews finished with 55 catches for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns, a career high. He holds Ravens single-season records for both receptions (107) and receiving yards (1,361) and he enters this season just 247 yards shy of the Ravens’ all-time record for receiving yards (Derrick Mason, 5,777).
Always the consummate pro, Andrews was pretty much a constant presence going full-speed at voluntary OTA workouts this spring, not always the case with veterans in a contract year.
Asked what he might expect from Andrews on his return to Buffalo in the glare of national television in the season opener, Jackson said, “The Mark that we always get, a guy who loves football, a guy who’s eager to win. … The same guy. Nothing has changed.”
NOTEBOOK
ALEXANDER BACK ON FIELD: Cornerback Jaire Alexander returned to the practice field for the first time in three weeks, keeping the door open to him making his Ravens debut Sunday night at Buffalo.
Alexander took part in some individual drills during the media viewing period, and he was listed as limited on the official injury report.
Alexander hadn’t practiced since Aug. 9 as he deals with a knee injury. Alexander has a history of knee injuries, and Harbaugh has noted in the past that they would monitor him carefully. Asked Wednesday about Alexander’s availability at Buffalo, Harbaugh said, “We’ll see how it goes this week.”
The only absences from Ravens practice were Likely and fullback Patrick Ricard. Ricard has missed the past two weeks with a calf injury. Harbaugh declined to elaborate on Ricard’s potential availability for Sunday.
RAVENS SIGN ALL-PRO SPECIAL TEAMER GRAY TO PRACTICE SQUAD: The Ravens have signed veteran safety J.T. Gray to the practice squad. Gray, 29, played the past seven seasons with the New Orleans Saints and was named a first-team All-Pro as a special teamer in 2021.
Gray has had a limited role on defense but has been a core special teamer throughout his career. Last season, he played just 39 defensive snaps for the Saints but was on the field for 84 percent of the team’s special teams snaps. He was released by the Saints on Sept. 1.
“He’ll be contributing very soon, I’m sure, on special teams for us,” Harbaugh said.
To make room for Gray on the practice squad, the Ravens released cornerback Thomas Graham Jr.
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