Mark Andrews suffered ligament damage and a cracked fibula after an ankle injury in Week 11, but the Baltimore Ravens tight end may be able to return for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.
What’s the latest on Andrews’ status, and can he actually play this weekend? Let’s run through the answers to those questions as the Ravens attempt to advance to the conference title tilt for the first time since 2012.
Mark Andrews Injury Update
Andrews went down in November following a hip-drop tackle by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. While Andrews’ injury initially appeared season-ending, head coach John Harbaugh said the veteran pass catcher had an “outside chance” of returning for a playoff run.
“Mark is so darn tough,” Harbaugh said at the time. “You say a guy eats, sleeps, and breathes football — that’s Mark Andrews. So, he’s going to do everything he can to get back down the road.”
The Ravens designated Andrews to return from injured reserve (IR) on Jan. 12, opening a three-week window during which he can be added to the club’s active roster.
Andrews appeared to be on track to play in Baltimore’s Divisional Round matchup against the Houston Texans. He managed a limited practice last Tuesday before posting full participation on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, Andrews was always non-committal about suiting up against the Texans. The 28-year-old suggested he didn’t plan to return to the field until he was fully prepared to contribute.
Andrews ultimately sat out of Baltimore’s 31-10 victory over Houston. Backup tight end Isaiah Likely caught two passes for 34 yards and a touchdown in Andrews’ absence.
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Andrews is expected to return against the Chiefs on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who noted that the AFC title game was always Andrews’ target date. He was a full practice participant on Wednesday.
Andrews posted 45 receptions for 544 yards and six touchdowns in 10 regular-season games before going down.
While the Ravens would have preferred to have him on the field, their offense kept rolling without him. Baltimore ranked second in points and yards per game in Andrews’ last five starts (Weeks 7 through 11) but didn’t experience a significant drop off (third in points, sixth in yards) with Likely in the lineup to close the regular season.
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