We probably say this every year, but it feels as though the barrage of injuries that inevitably hits has occurred far sooner than normal. It’s only Week 2, and we have a bunch of every-week fantasy starters either out or at risk of not playing.
Among those injured players is Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews. He had been dealing with a lingering quad issue for most of August, and the team opted to hold him out of an easily winnable Week 1 contest to play it safe. Should fantasy football managers expect the second-best TE in fantasy to return in Week 2?
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Latest News Surrounding Mark Andrews
We know Andrews practiced on a limited basis Wednesday. He also practiced ahead of last week. That really doesn’t tell us much. And Ravens head coach John Harbaugh didn’t provide any additional details. As Ravens beat reporter Jamison Hensley reported, Harbaugh merely referred everyone to the injury report.
When asked about the Ravens’ injured players, coach John Harbaugh referred questions to the injury report.
Asked about TE Mark Andrews, Harbaugh pointed out that Andrews was practicing today.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) September 13, 2023
Suffice it to say we have no further insight as to Andrews’ health.
With that said, Andrews did appear close to playing last week. It appears as though Andrews was held out more as a precaution. The Ravens were heavy home favorites over the Texans starting a rookie QB. They knew they could win this game without him. And they did.
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This week, the Bengals have a tough divisional showdown against the Bengals. They will need all hands on deck. I expect a big part of exercising caution with Andrews last week was to make sure he’s ready to go for this week’s game.
Barring a setback, Andrews will practice on Thursday and Friday. We would like to see him get in a full session on Friday. But even three limited sessions puts him back on track to play. He may draw a questionable tag, but fantasy managers should expect Andrews to be out there on Sunday.
What Does This Mean for Andrews’ Fantasy Ranking?
Whenever Andrews is on the field, he will likely be No. 2 in our PFN Consensus Rankings. He is the clear TE2 behind Travis Kelce. Given that he didn’t play in Week 1, we have no evidence suggesting otherwise.
Fantasy managers likely drafted Andrews in the third or early fourth round. He’s an every-week starter at a position where seldom few of those exist. If Andrews is back in action this week, which I anticipate he will be, fantasy managers do not need me to tell them to get Andrews into lineups.