The Ravens and All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews have agreed to a new three-year contract extension, the team announced Dec. 3, meaning the most prolific pass-catcher in Ravens history will not hit free agency as many expected.
According to NFL Network, the deal is worth $39.3 million, with $26 million guaranteed.
In a statement announcing the deal, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said, “Mark is an all-time Raven — a top competitor and Pro Bowl tight end who is also a big part of our Baltimore community.”
Andrews, 30, was in the final year of his four-year, $51 million extension signed in 2021. All three tight ends on the Ravens’ 53-man roster — Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar — were set to become free agents after the season, and the prevailing wisdom was that Likely, nearly five years younger than Andrews and more productive offensively than Kolar, was the top candidate for an extension.
But Likely was sidelined for the first three games with a foot injury and has had a disappointing season, with 18 catches for 223 yards in nine games. He had 95 of those yards in the Ravens’ most recent game, a Thanksgiving night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in which Likely lost a potential touchdown when he fumbled just short of the goal line.
Andrews has 37 catches for 332 yards and five touchdowns for an offense that has scuffled much of the season. He also has one rushing touchdown, on a 35-yard fake tush-push play that proved to be the game-winning score in a 23-16 win at Cleveland.
Earlier this season, Andrews, a three-time Pro Bowl pick, broke Derrick Mason’s all-time franchise record for receiving yards. Then on Thanksgiving night, he broke Mason’s all-time record for catches. Andrews’ team records now stand at 473 catches for 5,862 yards.
Andrews has also scored more touchdowns (57) than anyone in franchise history, and he holds the team’s single-season records for catches (107) and receiving yards (1,361), both set in 2021, when he was named a first-team All-Pro.
A third-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2018, Andrews arrived in Baltimore with quarterback Lamar Jackson and has been the MVP’s favorite target throughout their tenure together.
Jackson has frequently cited an almost telepathic connection the two have — Jackson has called it “Streetball” — that allows them to create something positive when a play breaks down.
And Jackson has been a vocal supporter of the player he calls “Mandrews,” most notably after Andrews was the subject of vitriol from Ravens fans after his disastrous performance in the AFC playoffs last season.
In the divisional round game against Buffalo, Andrews lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, then dropped a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 1:33 left. The Ravens lost 27-25 to end their season.
Andrews did not meet with the media after that game and lay low for several days before releasing a statement via social media that read, “It’s impossible to adequately express how I feel. I’m absolutely gutted by what happened. … Even though the shock and disappointment are unlike anything I’ve felt before, I refuse to let the situation define me. I promise that this adversity will only make me stronger and fuel us as we move forward.”
During the spring, Andrews was the subject of much trade speculation leading up to the NFL draft. The Ravens never moved on from Andrews, and later in the summer, asked about the trade rumors, Andrews said that DeCosta “is in the business of keeping great players. And, for me, I think I’m a great player.”
Andrews and the Ravens (6-6) host the archrival Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) on Dec. 7 at M&T Bank Stadium with first place in the AFC North on the line. The Ravens then visit Cincinnati the next week, giving the next two weeks extra weight as the Ravens, who have righted themselves after a disastrous 1-5 start, seek to become the first team to win three straight AFC North titles.
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