The Baltimore Ravens welcome back tight end Mark Andrews for the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He has been out since injuring his ankle in a Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
On Friday, Andrews said, “I’m excited, I’m ready, and yes, it’s just going to be a fun day on Sunday — to go out there and play with my teammates and have some fun playing football.”
Update 01/28/2024: Andrews is officially ACTIVE and is not on the injury report for the Ravens.
What Mark Andrews Means to Ravens’ Offense
Andrews had 45 catches for 544 yards and six touchdowns in ten games before he was injured. He has had 20 receptions for 212 yards in five career playoff games. Andrews has made the Pro Bowl three times in the last five seasons.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said on Andrews’ return, “It means a lot to all of us. What it means to me is I have another security blanket.”
Andrews has had 40 career touchdowns since 2018, and 33 have been thrown by Jackson. Andrews on playing for a chance to make the Super Bowl with his quarterback: “Yes. We came in here, in the league, in 2018 — the same time –together, and we’ve always talked about unfinished business, and this is part of that business.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, “To add a player like Mark [Andrews] is a great add for us. It’s a great advantage. We’re excited about it. Mark’s been looking good the last couple of weeks.
The Ravens have scored 30.4 points per game in seven games since Andrews was injured. Second-year tight end Isaiah Likely had six touchdown receptions while he filled in for Andrews.
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Andrews on the current state of the Ravens offense: “They’re playing really good ball, and No. 8 [Lamar Jackson] is playing some of the best ball in the world. I’ve never seen him like this. So, he’s doing everything incredibly well, and he’s helping everybody else out, and everybody is helping him out.”
Jackson on the offense with Andrews: “I believe we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing — just dishing out the ball to all [of] our guys, not just one person. Mark [Andrews] is going to help us through this process. He’s one of the ones, but we’re going to keep dishing the ball out like we’ve been doing.”
Andrews’ Rehab To Return
There was concern that Andrews’ season was over when the injury happened, but there was hope for a postseason return after he had more testing done. Baltimore designated Andrews to return from injured reserve earlier this month. After practicing during the postseason, the Ravens decided to activate him for Sunday’s game.
Andrews talked about his rehab, saying, “I’d probably spend about four to six hours here every day — workout, rehab — and then, at home, there are different things, like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and stuff like that. So, the whole day was dedicated to getting better.”
When asked about Andrews being at practice over the last few weeks, Jackson said, “He’s been looking sharp. He’s been speeding up the process. He’s been looking great.”
Harbaugh praised Andrews for his rehab: “I would say it’s an amazing amount of toughness — physical toughness in terms of the work. The physical pain he went through — I saw him in the training room.”
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