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ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter shared that Mark Andrews will likely be out of the season due to an ankle injury. The Baltimore Ravens tight end suffered the unfortunate injury in the opening drive of their Week 11 Thursday Night Football game versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson made a hip-drop tackle on Andrews, forcing him out of the game for further evaluation. Being out of action for the rest of the 2023 season is a massive blow to the four-year, $56 million contract Baltimore gave him in 2021.
Here are other players the Ravens can consider in Andrews' place for the remaining six regular season games and possibly the playoffs:
5 replacements for Ravens TE Mark Andrews
In nine games, Mark Andrews had 43 catches for 521 yards and six touchdowns. He missed Week 1 of the 2023 season due to a quad injury. That’s only the second game he missed in six seasons. Unfortunately, he is set to miss many more after his ankle injury on TNF against the Bengals. A subsequent MRI will confirm his injury’s severity.
With the Baltimore Ravens in the thick of the American Football Conference playoff race, they must find a replacement for his production. Before the squad added Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Odell Beckham Jr, Andrews had been Lamar Jackson's reliable target.
Therefore, it would be difficult to compensate for his worth in Baltimore’s offense. However, there are some players the Ravens can get to have a stable option at tight end:
#1) Cameron Brate
The former Harvard standout won Super Bowl LV with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played his entire career with the NFC South squad, with his best season coming in 2016. Brate finished with 57 receptions for 660 yards and eight touchdowns that year.
Brate has been relatively durable, playing at least 14 games per season from 2015 to 2021. However, he suited up in only 11 games last year because of a neck injury. Other than that concern, he still has some football left in him, making him an able replacement for Mark Andrews.
#2) Kyle Rudolph
Rudolph was teammates with Brate on the Buccaneers last season. The two-time Pro Bowler played in only nine games, collecting 28 yards and a touchdown. But he’s had moments, like in 2016 when he had 840 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. A year later, he had eight touchdowns and 532 yards.
His experience makes it easier for him to play the offense that allowed Mark Andrews to flourish. Baltimore’s punishing run game will help him become effective under Todd Monken’s system if the Ravens sign him.
#3) O.J. Howard
If the Ravens want a younger tight end, O.J. Howard is available. Like Rudolph and Brate, he also played for the Buccaneers. After five seasons and a Super Bowl victory in Tampa Bay, he suited up for the Houston Texans. Howard signed with the Las Vegas Raiders but was released before the 2023 season.
The former first-round draft pick’s best year was in 2018, finishing with 565 yards and five touchdowns. He’s got a lot of football left, especially as Mark Andrews’ potential replacement.
#4) Dan Arnold
Arnold has suited up for four teams in six NFL seasons. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him in 2023 but released him during the final roster cuts before Week 1. He last played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, finishing nine receptions for 135 yards in 17 games. The former undrafted free agent is just 28 years old, making him an able alternative.
#5) Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar
Finally, the best option for Baltimore is to embrace a “next man up” mentality. If Mark Andrews couldn’t play the rest of the 2023 season, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar must be more significant in the Ravens offense.
Likely will have to do more than the nine receptions and 89 yards he has this season, his second in the league. Meanwhile, Kolar had a 13-yard reception against the Bengals, his first catch in 2023. They can collectively replicate Andrews’ role and output.
