What could be his last game with the Baltimore Ravens proved to be a nightmare for Mark Andrews, but the franchise can still do right by the All-Pro tight end by trading him within the AFC to the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s a trade The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher would love to see happen before the start of free agency. He thinks the Ravens would get a third-round pick, the 86th overall in the 2025 NFL draft, from the Chargers for Andrews.
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Mosher also believes moving to the AFC West “might not be a bad thing for Andrews, especially if he can land in Los Angeles with another Harbaugh. Greg Roman is the offensive coordinator for the Chargers, and Andrews had some of his best seasons under him in Baltimore. It would be an easy fit for both parties, and Andrews would still play with a top-end quarterback who loves nothing more than throwing the ball down the middle of the field.”
The presence of head coach John Harbaugh and quarterback Justin Herbert are indeed compelling reasons for Andrews to want to become a Charger. Yet, there are incentives for the Ravens to move on from a veteran whose career reached its lowest point during the defeat to the Buffalo Bills in last season’s Divisional playoffs.
Mark Andrews Should Welcome Chargers Change
Things could hardly have gone worse for Andrews in Buffalo, where he lost a key fumble and dropped what would’ve been the game-tying two-point conversion. The 29-year-old expressed his feelings of dejection, but Andrews also indicated he’s ready to “move forward” with the Ravens.
Perhaps he’d change his mind for the chance to play for Roman again. The former Ravens OC called plays when Andrews caught 10 touchdown passes from Lamar Jackson in 2019, before snagging 107 receptions two years later.
Andrews became the go-to target for the Ravens on Roman’s watch, but things have changed somewhat since Todd Monken seized the headset in 2023. Monken has made expanding Jackson’s repertoire as a passer his priority, and that’s meant weening the quarterback off a reliance on Andrews.
To his credit, the latter has responded to a lighter workload by making the most of whatever reps he gets. Andrews reeled in a team- and career-high 11 scoring passes from Jackson last season, becoming the Ravens’ all-time leader in touchdowns in the process, per NFL on CBS.
Mark Andrews makes @Ravens history!
His 48th career TD breaks a tie with Jamal Lewis for most in team history 👏
Andrews still has value, but the Ravens already have a player primed to make the TE1 spot his own and maybe even elevate the position to new heights.
Ravens Have Perfect Replacement Already on the Roster
The presence of Isaiah Likely has long since started the clock on the end of Andrews’ career at M&T Bank Stadium. Likely is a more versatile and roving matchup nightmare, a pass-catcher with a skill-set worthy of a bigger role.
It’s exactly the moment for the Ravens to make Likely a focal point, since the 139th pick in the 2022 NFL draft “is entering the final year of his contract, and it’s clear that he is the future at tight end, according to Mosher.”
Likely offered a few exciting glimpses of what the future can look like with plays like this 49-yard catch and run for a score against the Kansas City Chiefs from Week 1.
The time is ripe for Likely and fellow 2022 fourth-round pick Charlie Kolar to take over the rotation at tight end. Particularly when Andrews “is set to count nearly $17 million against the cap” this year, per Mosher. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta could use some spare cash to help trade for a six-time Pro Bowler who can assume the mantle as Jackson’s new no. 1 target.
Those factors are bad news for Andrews, but being dealt to the Chargers would represent the softest of landings for a deserving Ravens great.
