The opening weekend of the NFL season has seen the tight end position in fantasy football left in absolute turmoil. Kelce has already missed the kickoff on Thursday Night Football. Now George Kittle, Darren Waller, and Mark Andrews are all questionable heading into Week 1.
Let’s take a look at Andrews’ latest injury status, whether or not he is expected to play today, and his fantasy value this week.
Latest News Surrounding Mark Andrews
Andrews has a quad injury that held him out of practice for the previous two weeks. However, he has practiced all week, albeit in a limited capacity.
When speaking about the injury earlier this week, Andrews said, “I’m feeling good. I’ve obviously taken some time off and been slowly working back in. It’s been one of those things that’s been a little tricky. But I’m feeling better running around, just day by day getting better and we’ll see what happens.” He is officially listed as questionable going into Week 1.
However, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Andrews is “not likely to play vs. the Texans.”
Will Andrews Play This Week?
It appears that Mark Andrews is not going to play this week. His words aside, the Ravens have a matchup against the Houston Texans that they will feel comfortable winning without Andrews. Also, with Todd Monken’s offense, and Isaiah Likely in the background itching to play, there will be no need to rush Andrews back and risk further injury unless he’s truly ready to go.
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Andrews finished as the TE3 in PPR scoring last season.
What Does This Mean for Andrews’ Fantasy Ranking?
Andrews is a massive loss for fantasy managers. In the PFN Consensus Rankings, Andrews was ranked at TE1 and the 13th-ranked player overall.
This week, Andrews was supposed to face the Houston Texans, who ranked 15th against tight ends in 2022. They only conceded six touchdowns to tight ends in 2022.
Andrews had nine top-12 TE finishes in 2022, including five top-three weekly finishes and two TE1-overall finishes in PPR scoring.
While the Texans’ defense can be surprisingly difficult to score touchdowns on at the tight end position, Andrews has proven in his NFL career he is an elite tight end option. Having said that, he is coming off the back of nine consecutive scoreless outings in the regular season. His last touchdown was in Week 6 in 2022 versus the Giants. That game was also the last time he had more than 100 yards receiving.
However, as he is unlikely to start, you should remove him from your lineups and look at alternatives. You either would have drafted a backup tight end for the scenario. If not, look at your free agents in your league and select either Likely or another suitable alternative.
If you are playing DFS, then with the niggling injury, it might be a smart play to look at some cheaper options at the tight end position, especially considering George Kittle and Darren Waller are also questionable going into the Sunday slate. Likely would start in place of Andrews today, and he could be an option worth considering in DFS.