A Baltimore Ravens side that failed to advance past the divisional round of the most recent postseason tournament needs to free up some salary-cap space with the new league year set to open on March 12.
For a piece published Wednesday, Ravens insider Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic explained why it may make sense for the Ravens to try to trade star tight end and franchise icon Mark Andrews this offseason.
“[Andrews] carries the fourth-highest cap hit on the team at $16.9M,” Zrebiec wrote, “and he’s one of the few places Baltimore could go to open up a chunk of space. Even with $11M of savings possible, just releasing him and getting nothing in return seems dubious. Andrews is one of the top tight ends in football and is still 29 years old. But if another team is willing to offer a Day 2 pick for him in a trade that would give the Ravens additional draft capital and significant salary-cap relief, they would have to listen.”
Andrews suffered a left ankle injury in November 2023 and then endured a slow start to this past campaign before he eventually looked like his old self. According to ESPN stats, he finished the 2024 regular season with a team-best 11 touchdown catches. He was second on the Ravens with 55 receptions and third with 673 receiving yards.
To compare, fellow tight end Isaiah Likely tallied 42 receptions for 477 yards and six touchdowns. With that said, Likely turns just 25 years old this spring.
The last fans saw Andrews in action, he lost a fumble and dropped a pass on a late two-point conversion play in Baltimore’s playoff loss at the Buffalo Bills. Additionally, ESPN’s Dan Graziano noted that “there were stretches this past season” when Likely “appeared to have surpassed [Andrews] in the passing game hierarchy in Baltimore.” As Zrebiec mentioned, Likely and Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar are on track to become free agents after the 2025 season.
It’s worth pointing out that Graziano thinks “there’s a good chance” Andrews remains with the Ravens for at least another campaign. Andrews is the all-time leading touchdown receiver in Ravens history, but one can’t help but wonder if he’s currently more valuable to the club as a tradable asset than as an offensive weapon.
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