By CJ Carlson
Mark Andrews has been the most reliable pass catching for Lamar Jackson for the last few years, and that hasn’t changed in 2023. That came to a stop when Andrews injured his leg against the Cincinnati Bengals back on November 16th. To many, it felt like his season was practically over. However, it’s starting to look like that isn’t the case at all.
Andrews started to get back onto the practice field earlier this week as the Baltimore Ravens prepare to take on the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the postseason. It definitely didn’t seem like he was going to be ready to play this week, but the fact that he was out there at all was a tremendous sign. Fast forward a couple of days and Andrews suddenly logged back-to-back full participations in practices. Meaning that he was performing with zero limitations already.
Of course, reporters saw the injury list and asked their head coach John Harbaugh about their star tight end and his potential availability for this weekend’s game. Harbaugh said that his status right now is “up in the air” and wouldn’t reveal their upcoming plans for him. It’s very likely that he’ll be a game-time decision no matter what.
Mark Andrews Could Rest Due To Talented Tight End Room
Even if the team doesn’t want to rush him back into action, they can feel confident in resting him another week thanks to the standout play of tight end Isaiah Likely. Likely has been taking over as the starting tight end since Andrew’s absence and has caught 21 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns. If Andrews can get back out there, the combination of him and Likely will further confuse opposing defenses.
Lastly, Mark Andrews himself spoke about his health and how he currently feels moving forward. He said, “It’s how I feel, at the end of the day. Just knowing how good this team is, how good our players are, how good our tight ends are, if I feel like I’m going to be helpful to the team, I’m going to go. If I’m close and not there, I’m going to let these guys go.” He also later said that he’s doing everything in his power to get back out there in time for this playoff run, and the Ravens are hoping that he can get an extra week of rest here before returning for a potential AFC Championship game.
