December 3, 2025 • 23 mins
Team insiders Ryan Mink and Garrett Downing discuss the on- and off-field reasons why the Ravens got a three-year extension done with Mark Andrews, what this means for the rest of the roster, and more. Plus, they break down Wednesday's surprising injury news as the Ravens prepare to take on the Steelers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink
here with Garrett Downing following the breaking news of tight
end Mark Andrews agreeing to terms on a three year,
thirty nine point three million dollar extension with the Ravens,
keeping a true Raven in the fold. This is the
(00:23):
Triple Crown franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Guy who's been a draft pick here since twenty eighteen,
in his eighth season alongside Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews perhaps
a Raven for life.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Garrett, Yeah, this is huge news. I could not be
more excited when this news broke.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
I think this is.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Something that Mark Andrews is one of the best players
in Ravens history. He's one of the best draft picks
in Ravens history. He has an Eric Tacosta's quote about
Mark when the news came out, he said that Mark
is an all time Raven and I think that's a
good way to put it. He's just one of the
guys that has accomplished so much in his time in
the Purple and Black, and I think it's only fitting
(01:05):
that he's now going to get a chance to like
I don't want to put the cart too far in
front of the horse here, but like I agree with you,
I think this is a potential Raven for life situation
and if there's anybody that deserves it, I think it's
Mark Andrews. I think he does things the right way.
I think he's exactly the type of player that you
want in your locker room. And I also think, as
he has shown this year, he still has plenty of
(01:26):
gas left in the tank. And so the Ravens are
they want to keep good players around, and Eric Zicassa
has said that many times, specifically about Mark Andrews, and
I think it's a great thing to have him in
Baltimore for three more years.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
After the season, there's obviously a lot of questions about
what the future was going to be at tight end
with this team. You had Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and
Charlie Kohler all going into the final years of their contracts.
So that was one thing that was debated a lot.
Who's going to get a deal right, Who's going to
get that extension? And when push came to shove, Mark
(02:03):
was the guy. I mean you're talking, I think it's
you talk about production and what he's had over his career.
And as we said, triple crown holder, right franchise, the
franchise is best pass catcher ever, right, so, and and
still producing at a high level this season.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
You know he's got he has.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
He's second on the team in receptions and receiving yards
behind Za Flowers, and he leads the team in receiving
touchdowns with five. And and also I think just as
important as the fact that he's still a productive player
is that this is a guy, This is a culture guy.
He is everything that you want in a raven. When
(02:42):
you talk about play like a raven, all of those things,
train like a raven, prepare like a raven, all of
those things. Just as much for the production on the field,
I think it's like he is everything that you want
in your program.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, and I agree without one hundred percent, yep.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And especially I think it was especially evident this season.
You know, he's coming off of a nightmarish playoff game
in Buffalo and you know the fumble that he had
that dropped two point conversion. There couldn't have been a
more brutal ending to the season than what Mark Andrews had.
And to go through that and come back this season
(03:21):
as the same exact guy, right, I mean, same exact
dude with a positive outlook and a laser sharp focus
and you know just about his business. Like to me,
that said just about as much about Mark as any
other year in his career.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah, I think that A point that stands out to
me about Mark is that he did not let that game,
in that moment break him. And he said that soon
after that game, is that this is a guy who's
overcome a lot. Like if you really want to look,
if you look at Mark Andrews' big picture and all
that he's overcome, you can talk about diabetes and fighting
through that, and that's something that he manages on a
daily basis, and he's never let that a detriment to
(04:00):
him and he's served He's used his his platform as
a way to inspire so many people on that. You
could talk about the leg injury that he had back
in the twenty twenty three season, fighting his way to
come back and get on the field for the AFC
Championship when everybody thought his season was over, and then
even coming out of that and being able to play
again at a high level, and that was that was significant,
(04:24):
and then of course there's the Buffalo game and fighting
his way back from that, and like all throughout the
off season, we would get questions. It was a topic
in the national media circles. Are the Ravens going to
move on from Mark Andrews? Could they trade him? And
that was what we'd heard about in the offseason, even
at the trade deadline this year. That started to float
out again a little bit at that time, and the
(04:46):
Ravens were steadfast in their belief that their team was
better with Market Andrews on it, which I certainly endorse.
And then and then, like you then you play it forward,
and then I thought, I feel like the conversation became like, Okay,
well he's going to be here this year, but that's
probably it. It's probably his last year because he's in the
last year of his contract and the Ravens have two
(05:07):
younger tight ends and they could extend them. No, Mark, again,
against the odds. He gets that contract extension at a
point where everyone thought, not everyone, a lot of people
thought he might be traded or they might just play
out his contract and move on. No, none of those
things happened. Mark Andrews is still the top tight end
on this team. He continues to produce, and I'm really
excited that he's going to stay here in Baltimore with
(05:28):
Lamar Jackson and continue working towards what they've been building.
Hopefully they accomplish it this year, but they're going to
have more opportunities even beyond this year together.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I absolutely agree with that.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Another key point to Mark I think that is overlooked
is that he's turned into a pretty darn good blocker too.
It's not just what he offers as a receiver, but
he's graded as the thirteenth best blocking tight end in
the league by Pro Football Focus so far this season.
That's an important part of your team, especially, I don't
(05:58):
I think it would be very surprising if the Ravens
bring back the entire tight end trio, right, and so
as you move forward to having that element, you know,
he really has made himself what was a college receiving
only tight end into an all around tight end. And
also you mentioned this, you know, having a lot more
(06:19):
left in the tank.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I mean the top.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Speed that he hit on Hurricane exactly, the fake tush
push touchdown, that was the top speed of his career. Yeah,
top twenty miles per hour, so he obviously can still
move just just fine. And so I think this is
a player. He's thirty years old. When this contract expires,
he'll be thirty three if I'm doing that right when
it expires. I think thirty plus three is thirty three.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I think I got that. Hold on, let me get
the calculator out here, well, like when exactly his contract right? Anyway?
Thirty three?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right? Like, I think that Mark Andrews still has some
very good years ahead of him.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah. He takes great care of himself, like he's somebody
like in the offseason, he always comes back in great
shape you never got to worry about, like is this
guy got to come in heavy? Is he going to
come in light?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Like?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Is he's very Dereck Henry esque.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yes, you look at Dereck Henry as a guy that
has defied father time.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Mark Andrews is very much on that same path.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, I mean he's got the hyperbaric chamber or whatever
it was. When he's in twenty twenty three, maybe that
thing's like also like a time machine.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Yeah, I don't know what everything that thing can do, but.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
No limit, no limitations. Yeah, I think like even even
things like this with with Mark Andrews, they use they
use him on the tush push play and they've added
wrinkles to the tush push play like Hurricane and the
pitch to Lamar Jackson, and like they're not keeping him
because of that play, Like that's not the only factor here.
I'm not gonna go crazy with this, but I think
(07:45):
that like those types, the way the Ravens use him,
and his ability to be trusted and relied on in
big moments and situations and when when the Ravens need
somebody that can trust in those plays, they turn to
him and like and part of it is like he
fits the mold. He's a big guy. He can go
in there and like plow ahead for a yard if
(08:06):
needed on touch Pusts play, Like that's part of it.
But another part of it is that, like the Ravens
like his ability to manage that situation, and all of
that speaks to like the trust that they have in him.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I've said I've.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Said before, like if again, if you could clone him,
if you can have fifty three Mark Andrews on your team,
you'd be a darn good football team. And like it's
just exactly the type of person and player that you want,
and as like as I look down the rest of
this season, he's got five touchdowns this year, and it
would not shock me at all if he ends up
(08:40):
being right around double digits again. That would be a
lot five touchdowns and five games, But I think he may.
He had an opportunity to catch one last week. That
was actually the play that Lamar Jackson ended up getting
picked on because a blocker or a defensive player ran
through and got his hand on the ball. But you
look at that play Mark Andrews wide open. He's got
thirty seven catches, three hundred and thirty two yards, five
(09:01):
touchdowns this season. I think he's still gonna flirt with
that double digits again this season and just be a
huge player for this team down the stretch and hopefully
endo the postseason.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
It's reported thirty nine point three million dollar contract extension
over three years, with twenty six million dollars guaranteed. It's
according to NFL Networks Mike Garafolo, that would make Mark
Andrews the sixth highest paid tight end in the league
based on yearly average according to the spot Track, which
feels right about right. You know, I think though, a
(09:32):
question coming out of this, which you always talk about
whenever you, you know, spend a good chunk of money signing
somebody to an extension, is.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
What's the ripple effect for the rest of the roster?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Right? And obviously this impacts the tight end room. As
we said at the top, you know, which of those
tight ends were you going to bring back? It wouldn't
shock me if the Ravens could still bring back another,
you know, between Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kohler. Obviously Isaiah Likely,
though has had a tough season, you know, I mean
hamper early on by the foot injury in training camp.
(10:03):
He's made eighteen catches for two hundred and twenty three
yards in nine games left, averaging two catches per game. Obviously,
had the fumble. I mean, what's the fumble against the Bengals.
The sad part is like he otherwise was the leading
Raven's leading receiver in the game.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
He had a good game. He had the fumble and
the block.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
That you talked about that got the ball tip for
the interception were not good movements. But I think we
can obviously say that I think the difference between the
season that Mark Andrews has had and Isaiah Likely has
had played into this decision.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, I think that Mark it goes back to what
we said, like this was a guy who at his
lowest moment was able to come back and put it together,
shake that off and not allow it to break him
and still be really productive. And I know that. Like
there's the it is a conversation. You got three tight
(10:58):
ends who were all in. It's a unique situation. You
got three tight ends all in the final years of
your contract, and you don't know who's gonna come back,
And it's a little bit of go earn it, go
earn that contract. And I think that Mark earned it.
And I really think that's what the situation is. Like
he went out there and he earned the contract. Are
you gonna have more money to pay either Isaiah Likely
(11:19):
or Charlie Kohlar. We'll see. It's tough when you have
a quarterback under contract and you have marquee players on
both sides of the ball under contract, you're playing a
left tackle.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Big money free agents.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, there's other free agency free agency decisions to be
made for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Right Like you have you have the top paid safety,
you got a highly paid lineback. You gotta highly paid
left tackle, like highly paid running back. It's hard to
keep everybody, so that's gonna be tough. But I think
that Mark is a guy that you want in your program,
and I think that I don't think that he's nearing.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
The end of the road.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And I also think that there is something too. We
talked about this a little bit with Ronnie Stanley, and
I think that there is something to what has been
built with Lamar and the guys who are the core
pieces over the course of his run. Mark to me,
is most closely linked to Lamar. They're the same draft class.
(12:14):
He's caught the majority of those catches and touchdowns and
put up those receiving yards, like the majority of that
treble Crown has been coming from Lamar Jackson, and I
think that those two guys have a really unique connection.
And keeping his number one target in his career in
(12:35):
Baltimore on this offense for the duration of Lamar's contract.
This current contract, I think is really good and I
think that that we'll just can allow the Ravens to
continue working towards that Super Bowl that Mark and Lamar
so dearly won.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yep. Well, it's been a great week for Mark Andrews.
He surpassed Derek Mason in receptions to claim the triple
Crown officially.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the win one win would have made even better. Yeah,
but that's like that.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's the thing about Mark, Like even when you we
asked him about it out of the game and he
just like really was not interested in having the celebratory
conversation about becoming to triple Crown winners.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Guys, we just exist like yep.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Then over the Thanksgaven weekend he got engaged. Yes, uh so,
congrats to him on that. And now the Ravens put
a ring on.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
It again, Yeah, for the third ring on it.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Uh Yeah, it's kind of a triple Crown week.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
For Mark Andrews. That's right, that's right. We get a
chance to talk to him.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
We'll have to ask him about what he's most excited about.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yes, exactly, you better give the right answer. She's gonna
be listening. All right, Let's take break. When we come back,
we'll break down some of the news of the week
as the Ravens prepared to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
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So as the Ravens before they extended Mark Andrews, they
had practice as they prepare for the game coming up
on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it was a
(14:34):
good sign. A lot of good news out there on
the practice field today. The biggest thing was Lamar Jackson
out there practicing. He has not practiced on Wednesdays in
recent weeks as he's been dealing with injuries. He was
a limited participant because of an ankle injury. But he
was out there and I think that that's a good
sign coming off of the mini bye with the Thursday
night football game.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Absolutely, and obviously it's no secret that Lamar had a
tough game against the Bengals on Thursday night, and I
think that's important that you know, he gets sharp throughout
the week of practice, that he has a full week
of practice, which is what we expect from here on
out obviously to kind of get sharp and get that
mojo back a little bit, you know, and then obviously
(15:15):
just being at a healthier point than he was in
recent weeks when he wasn't able to practice on that
first day. So both good signs from Lamar Jackson and
let's be honest, him getting hot down the stretch is
paramount for this offense and this team in general to
win the AFC North.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yeah, I think it's not exactly breaking news that this
team is going to go. Lamar Jackson playing his best
football is going to be critical in this team determining
how far this team goes like that, There's no question
about that. And yeah, getting healthy is a huge be Basically,
it's get healthy so that you can practice, so that
you can continue to be sharp so that you can
then take it onto the field on Sundays and Mondays
(15:55):
and whenever the Ravens play. I think that that's all
of those things are connected. And just being out there
I thought was a good sign, and and and and
and I liked the energy from the team today.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
The other really I liked Lamar's energy. He had a
little pep in his step. Yeah, like more than I've
seen in recent weeks during practicing. You know, he's just
taking snaps from under center and rolling back like in
a play action pass, and he's doing jump passes and stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah. Yeah, like you like to see that.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
He's you can tell just from people that have been
around him for so many years here, like when he's
feeling better, and I think he is feeling better, you
you can you can.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Also tell, like the sense of urgency that he has,
and he he knows it's a five game season, uh,
five games left in the regular season, and like Lamar
understands basically that, like he understands this is the significance
of every single game and playoff opportunity at this point
of his career, and like he wants to maximize those
(16:52):
those chances. Because even though we just spent all that
time talking about Mark Andrews and getting that contract extension done,
there's a lot of pieces on the team that aren't
going to be back, and so the Ravens have the pieces.
They feel like right now they have the players, they
have the team, but they have to put it together
and first get to the dance and then see what happens.
Another nice note from practice today, and we talk about
(17:13):
pieces being on the field. The Ravens got two guys
back in the mix who are pretty significant players. One
is Tavius Robinson, who has been had foot surgery this season.
The others are Darius Washington, who tore his achilles back in.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
The spring in May.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, and when John Harbaugh said earlier he had there's
a chance he could come back and play this season,
I think a lot of people kind of rolled their
eyes at that back in training camp and OTA's when
he made those comments. So there was still an opportunity
that he could come back and play. Well, he wasn't lying.
It's here we are in December, and Harball reiterated this
(17:50):
week that not only is he a bat Ardarius back
on the practice field, but he has an opportunity to
play in this week's game against the Steelers. Is remarkable.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, I mean he's eight months removed from the injury
and I think a lot of people expected, Okay, you know,
he's just getting back on the practice field. He's gonna
need time to ramp up, shake off the rust.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And you know, even.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I'll mention it because our guy jeff' threebeck at the
Athletic who I have a ton of respect for it
does a great job.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
You know, it's just funny. He just got he roast
himself on this one.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
He was like, you know, obviously are he tweeted, obviously
our Darius isn't gonna play, but maybe Tavius has a
chance this week as the Steelers. Then harpball a couple
hours later, it's like, Tavius doesn't have a chance, but.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Maybe our Darius.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, so it's like, which I mean, I would have
probably agreed with Jeff's assessment before harp said that, Like
it was a surprise. You would think Tavius has been
sidelined for eight weeks. The other guy's been eight months.
Who's getting back on the game action earlier. But so
that was like the most surprising news of the day.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Jeff.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Jeff even like was like, just to make sure I'm
understanding correctly, like you're saying ar Darius has a chance
to play.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
He was so shocked he asked the question twice.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, and on on Tavius, you mentioned this, but just
to be clear, John Harboll said that there's not a
chance for him to play this week, but again, he
has been designated to return, so he has this practice
window where he can come back, get practice reps under
his belt and then see if he can come back
and end up playing this season and just get his
kind of knock the rust off and make sure the
(19:24):
foot feels good and all that. So, and the question
on like my question on our Darius has been like, well,
where do you put him? The Ravens added to Lohi Gilman,
of course they drafted Malachi Starks, Marlon Humphrey's been playing
in the slot, Kyle Hamilton has been playing all over,
like where do the Ravens use him? And John Harbaugh
shed some light on that today, saying, like he plays
in the nickel. He plays a nickel spot, and so
it seems like that would be the most likely place
(19:47):
for the Ravens to use him if he goes out there,
ends up playing this week or in the near future.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, and the other player that returned from injury is
Nate Wiggins. You know, he suffered a foot injury in
the thanks Giving game which held him out for the
entire second half. He was back on the field today,
which was also really pleasant news. I thought I didn't know,
but certainly when a guy misses half of football, you
don't necessarily expect him out there the next chance. The
(20:13):
minibis certainly helps, but that was really good. He was
a limited participant. So we'll see how Nate Wiggins progresses
over the course of the week. But if our Darreus
can play, and that's it's possible. It's not probable, but
it's possible. If he can play, then that just gives
the Ravens that much more depth at corner. You know,
(20:34):
you have Marlin and Cheeto split in times that canate.
Does Nate play one hundred percent of the snaps like
he has been, you know, you just have a lot
more possibilities.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, and so all these things are are good signs
for this team as you get ready to play a
really physical game against the Steelers, knowing what's on the
horizon with that one.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah, absolutely, and you know this offense is gonna have
to get on track for shot. Bateman talked about that
in the locker room today, said it feels like it's
been out of sync really the whole season, and but
that they remain confident that they have the pieces, you know,
for what it takes, and that it's just a matter
of it kind of coming together and we've been waiting
(21:15):
a while, you know, but they're not ruling out hope.
He shot even said that you got to you got
to maintain your hope that you can play at that
level that you know you're capable of doing. And then
you know, Marlon Humphrey talked about and Rokwan Smith gave
a speech to the team about this game, the importance
of this game. Two six to six teams battle for
first place. You know what's on the line. And I
(21:37):
thought Marlon said it well today in the locker room
also that basically, if you can't get up for this game,
you know, you don't you don't belong in this game
and you might not even be a Raven. And uh
so I think that it has been stressed and it
probably doesn't even need to be stressed that much about
how big a game this is coming up against Steelers.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
A loo he going doesn't need to remind you.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, I was say a loo he going also talked
about that and said he's getting sick and tired of
people telling him he's not a raven until he beats
the Steelers. So he's hearing about nine times a day
and he's about out his limit. So so I think
I'm nominating you to go tell him tomorrow that he's
not a raven until he be servous.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Just getting breakfast.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Hey, hello, Yeah, I don't know if you've heard this,
but you're not a rack until he just throws he
throws down right there, right then and there.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yeah, i'd like to see. I like to see what
happens there.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
But yeah, the Ravens no like it. It's one of
those situations where you don't need to talk about what's
at stake in the significance of things, but the Ravens are.
They're talking about it. And then ro Kwan Smith kind
of acknowledged that, like do you talk about this and
the road ahead and all this stuff? And he's he
basically said like, yeah, I'd be lying if if we didn't,
And and that's where he brought up the speech that
(22:46):
he made to the team and and it caught some
people's attention and caught Marlin's attention, and and he said that,
you know, that stuck out to him, and all of
it just made him think about the significance of this
game and the opportunity that the Ravens have and that
they're to be really locked in and take care of
business this week. So it's gonna be fun, it's gonna
be exciting day at Mt BAK Stadium Sunday.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
It's gonna be physical.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
It's gonna be physical, Garrett, and you know who who's physical,
Draymont Jones our guest.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Our guest coming up.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, and so we're gonna have Draymont on the pod
to talk about this rivalry and his first taste of
Raven Steelers.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
So that'll be exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Make sure you tune in for that, make sure you subscribe,
leave us a rating and review if you don't mind,
and of course you can email us at the lounge
at Ravens dot NFL dot net. Thanks for listening, and
congrats to Mark Andrews.
Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink
here with Garrett Downing following the breaking news of tight
end Mark Andrews agreeing to terms on a three year,
thirty nine point three million dollar extension with the Ravens,
keeping a true Raven in the fold. This is the
(00:23):
Triple Crown franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Guy who's been a draft pick here since twenty eighteen,
in his eighth season alongside Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews perhaps
a Raven for life.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Garrett, Yeah, this is huge news. I could not be
more excited when this news broke.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
I think this is.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Something that Mark Andrews is one of the best players
in Ravens history. He's one of the best draft picks
in Ravens history. He has an Eric Tacosta's quote about
Mark when the news came out, he said that Mark
is an all time Raven and I think that's a
good way to put it. He's just one of the
guys that has accomplished so much in his time in
the Purple and Black, and I think it's only fitting
(01:05):
that he's now going to get a chance to like
I don't want to put the cart too far in
front of the horse here, but like I agree with you,
I think this is a potential Raven for life situation
and if there's anybody that deserves it, I think it's
Mark Andrews. I think he does things the right way.
I think he's exactly the type of player that you
want in your locker room. And I also think, as
he has shown this year, he still has plenty of
(01:26):
gas left in the tank. And so the Ravens are
they want to keep good players around, and Eric Zicassa
has said that many times, specifically about Mark Andrews, and
I think it's a great thing to have him in
Baltimore for three more years.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
After the season, there's obviously a lot of questions about
what the future was going to be at tight end
with this team. You had Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and
Charlie Kohler all going into the final years of their contracts.
So that was one thing that was debated a lot.
Who's going to get a deal right, Who's going to
get that extension? And when push came to shove, Mark
(02:03):
was the guy. I mean you're talking, I think it's
you talk about production and what he's had over his career.
And as we said, triple crown holder, right franchise, the
franchise is best pass catcher ever, right, so, and and
still producing at a high level this season.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
You know he's got he has.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
He's second on the team in receptions and receiving yards
behind Za Flowers, and he leads the team in receiving
touchdowns with five. And and also I think just as
important as the fact that he's still a productive player
is that this is a guy, This is a culture guy.
He is everything that you want in a raven. When
(02:42):
you talk about play like a raven, all of those things,
train like a raven, prepare like a raven, all of
those things. Just as much for the production on the field,
I think it's like he is everything that you want
in your program.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, and I agree without one hundred percent, yep.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And especially I think it was especially evident this season.
You know, he's coming off of a nightmarish playoff game
in Buffalo and you know the fumble that he had
that dropped two point conversion. There couldn't have been a
more brutal ending to the season than what Mark Andrews had.
And to go through that and come back this season
(03:21):
as the same exact guy, right, I mean, same exact
dude with a positive outlook and a laser sharp focus
and you know just about his business. Like to me,
that said just about as much about Mark as any
other year in his career.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Yeah, I think that A point that stands out to
me about Mark is that he did not let that game,
in that moment break him. And he said that soon
after that game, is that this is a guy who's
overcome a lot. Like if you really want to look,
if you look at Mark Andrews' big picture and all
that he's overcome, you can talk about diabetes and fighting
through that, and that's something that he manages on a
daily basis, and he's never let that a detriment to
(04:00):
him and he's served He's used his his platform as
a way to inspire so many people on that. You
could talk about the leg injury that he had back
in the twenty twenty three season, fighting his way to
come back and get on the field for the AFC
Championship when everybody thought his season was over, and then
even coming out of that and being able to play
again at a high level, and that was that was significant,
(04:24):
and then of course there's the Buffalo game and fighting
his way back from that, and like all throughout the
off season, we would get questions. It was a topic
in the national media circles. Are the Ravens going to
move on from Mark Andrews? Could they trade him? And
that was what we'd heard about in the offseason, even
at the trade deadline this year. That started to float
out again a little bit at that time, and the
(04:46):
Ravens were steadfast in their belief that their team was
better with Market Andrews on it, which I certainly endorse.
And then and then, like you then you play it forward,
and then I thought, I feel like the conversation became like, Okay,
well he's going to be here this year, but that's
probably it. It's probably his last year because he's in the
last year of his contract and the Ravens have two
(05:07):
younger tight ends and they could extend them. No, Mark, again,
against the odds. He gets that contract extension at a
point where everyone thought, not everyone, a lot of people
thought he might be traded or they might just play
out his contract and move on. No, none of those
things happened. Mark Andrews is still the top tight end
on this team. He continues to produce, and I'm really
excited that he's going to stay here in Baltimore with
(05:28):
Lamar Jackson and continue working towards what they've been building.
Hopefully they accomplish it this year, but they're going to
have more opportunities even beyond this year together.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I absolutely agree with that.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Another key point to Mark I think that is overlooked
is that he's turned into a pretty darn good blocker too.
It's not just what he offers as a receiver, but
he's graded as the thirteenth best blocking tight end in
the league by Pro Football Focus so far this season.
That's an important part of your team, especially, I don't
(05:58):
I think it would be very surprising if the Ravens
bring back the entire tight end trio, right, and so
as you move forward to having that element, you know,
he really has made himself what was a college receiving
only tight end into an all around tight end. And
also you mentioned this, you know, having a lot more
(06:19):
left in the tank.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I mean the top.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Speed that he hit on Hurricane exactly, the fake tush
push touchdown, that was the top speed of his career. Yeah,
top twenty miles per hour, so he obviously can still
move just just fine. And so I think this is
a player. He's thirty years old. When this contract expires,
he'll be thirty three if I'm doing that right when
it expires. I think thirty plus three is thirty three.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
I think I got that. Hold on, let me get
the calculator out here, well, like when exactly his contract right? Anyway?
Thirty three?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right? Like, I think that Mark Andrews still has some
very good years ahead of him.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Yeah. He takes great care of himself, like he's somebody
like in the offseason, he always comes back in great
shape you never got to worry about, like is this
guy got to come in heavy? Is he going to
come in light?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Like?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Is he's very Dereck Henry esque.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yes, you look at Dereck Henry as a guy that
has defied father time.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Mark Andrews is very much on that same path.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, I mean he's got the hyperbaric chamber or whatever
it was. When he's in twenty twenty three, maybe that
thing's like also like a time machine.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Yeah, I don't know what everything that thing can do, but.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
No limit, no limitations. Yeah, I think like even even
things like this with with Mark Andrews, they use they
use him on the tush push play and they've added
wrinkles to the tush push play like Hurricane and the
pitch to Lamar Jackson, and like they're not keeping him
because of that play, Like that's not the only factor here.
I'm not gonna go crazy with this, but I think
(07:45):
that like those types, the way the Ravens use him,
and his ability to be trusted and relied on in
big moments and situations and when when the Ravens need
somebody that can trust in those plays, they turn to
him and like and part of it is like he
fits the mold. He's a big guy. He can go
in there and like plow ahead for a yard if
(08:06):
needed on touch Pusts play, Like that's part of it.
But another part of it is that, like the Ravens
like his ability to manage that situation, and all of
that speaks to like the trust that they have in him.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I've said I've.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Said before, like if again, if you could clone him,
if you can have fifty three Mark Andrews on your team,
you'd be a darn good football team. And like it's
just exactly the type of person and player that you want,
and as like as I look down the rest of
this season, he's got five touchdowns this year, and it
would not shock me at all if he ends up
(08:40):
being right around double digits again. That would be a
lot five touchdowns and five games, But I think he may.
He had an opportunity to catch one last week. That
was actually the play that Lamar Jackson ended up getting
picked on because a blocker or a defensive player ran
through and got his hand on the ball. But you
look at that play Mark Andrews wide open. He's got
thirty seven catches, three hundred and thirty two yards, five
(09:01):
touchdowns this season. I think he's still gonna flirt with
that double digits again this season and just be a
huge player for this team down the stretch and hopefully
endo the postseason.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
It's reported thirty nine point three million dollar contract extension
over three years, with twenty six million dollars guaranteed. It's
according to NFL Networks Mike Garafolo, that would make Mark
Andrews the sixth highest paid tight end in the league
based on yearly average according to the spot Track, which
feels right about right. You know, I think though, a
(09:32):
question coming out of this, which you always talk about
whenever you, you know, spend a good chunk of money signing
somebody to an extension, is.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
What's the ripple effect for the rest of the roster?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Right? And obviously this impacts the tight end room. As
we said at the top, you know, which of those
tight ends were you going to bring back? It wouldn't
shock me if the Ravens could still bring back another,
you know, between Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kohler. Obviously Isaiah Likely,
though has had a tough season, you know, I mean
hamper early on by the foot injury in training camp.
(10:03):
He's made eighteen catches for two hundred and twenty three
yards in nine games left, averaging two catches per game. Obviously,
had the fumble. I mean, what's the fumble against the Bengals.
The sad part is like he otherwise was the leading
Raven's leading receiver in the game.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
He had a good game. He had the fumble and
the block.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
That you talked about that got the ball tip for
the interception were not good movements. But I think we
can obviously say that I think the difference between the
season that Mark Andrews has had and Isaiah Likely has
had played into this decision.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, I think that Mark it goes back to what
we said, like this was a guy who at his
lowest moment was able to come back and put it together,
shake that off and not allow it to break him
and still be really productive. And I know that. Like
there's the it is a conversation. You got three tight
(10:58):
ends who were all in. It's a unique situation. You
got three tight ends all in the final years of
your contract, and you don't know who's gonna come back,
And it's a little bit of go earn it, go
earn that contract. And I think that Mark earned it.
And I really think that's what the situation is. Like
he went out there and he earned the contract. Are
you gonna have more money to pay either Isaiah Likely
(11:19):
or Charlie Kohlar. We'll see. It's tough when you have
a quarterback under contract and you have marquee players on
both sides of the ball under contract, you're playing a
left tackle.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Big money free agents.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, there's other free agency free agency decisions to be
made for sure.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Right Like you have you have the top paid safety,
you got a highly paid lineback. You gotta highly paid
left tackle, like highly paid running back. It's hard to
keep everybody, so that's gonna be tough. But I think
that Mark is a guy that you want in your program,
and I think that I don't think that he's nearing.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
The end of the road.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And I also think that there is something too. We
talked about this a little bit with Ronnie Stanley, and
I think that there is something to what has been
built with Lamar and the guys who are the core
pieces over the course of his run. Mark to me,
is most closely linked to Lamar. They're the same draft class.
(12:14):
He's caught the majority of those catches and touchdowns and
put up those receiving yards, like the majority of that
treble Crown has been coming from Lamar Jackson, and I
think that those two guys have a really unique connection.
And keeping his number one target in his career in
(12:35):
Baltimore on this offense for the duration of Lamar's contract.
This current contract, I think is really good and I
think that that we'll just can allow the Ravens to
continue working towards that Super Bowl that Mark and Lamar
so dearly won.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Yep. Well, it's been a great week for Mark Andrews.
He surpassed Derek Mason in receptions to claim the triple
Crown officially.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And the win one win would have made even better. Yeah,
but that's like that.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's the thing about Mark, Like even when you we
asked him about it out of the game and he
just like really was not interested in having the celebratory
conversation about becoming to triple Crown winners.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Guys, we just exist like yep.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Then over the Thanksgaven weekend he got engaged. Yes, uh so,
congrats to him on that. And now the Ravens put
a ring on.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
It again, Yeah, for the third ring on it.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Uh Yeah, it's kind of a triple Crown week.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
For Mark Andrews. That's right, that's right. We get a
chance to talk to him.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
We'll have to ask him about what he's most excited about.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yes, exactly, you better give the right answer. She's gonna
be listening. All right, Let's take break. When we come back,
we'll break down some of the news of the week
as the Ravens prepared to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
You're listening to the last podcast We are coming to
you from the Seaki Studio. We want to mention our
partner's drafting sports book. They are an official sports betting
partner of the Baltimore Ravens Raft King sportsbook. The Crown
is Yours. Also, autostream Carcare has been part of the
community for over twenty six years with nearly five thousand
online reviews and a four point eight rating. We know
(14:12):
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So as the Ravens before they extended Mark Andrews, they
had practice as they prepare for the game coming up
on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it was a
(14:34):
good sign. A lot of good news out there on
the practice field today. The biggest thing was Lamar Jackson
out there practicing. He has not practiced on Wednesdays in
recent weeks as he's been dealing with injuries. He was
a limited participant because of an ankle injury. But he
was out there and I think that that's a good
sign coming off of the mini bye with the Thursday
night football game.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Absolutely, and obviously it's no secret that Lamar had a
tough game against the Bengals on Thursday night, and I
think that's important that you know, he gets sharp throughout
the week of practice, that he has a full week
of practice, which is what we expect from here on
out obviously to kind of get sharp and get that
mojo back a little bit, you know, and then obviously
(15:15):
just being at a healthier point than he was in
recent weeks when he wasn't able to practice on that
first day. So both good signs from Lamar Jackson and
let's be honest, him getting hot down the stretch is
paramount for this offense and this team in general to
win the AFC North.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Yeah, I think it's not exactly breaking news that this
team is going to go. Lamar Jackson playing his best
football is going to be critical in this team determining
how far this team goes like that, There's no question
about that. And yeah, getting healthy is a huge be Basically,
it's get healthy so that you can practice, so that
you can continue to be sharp so that you can
then take it onto the field on Sundays and Mondays
(15:55):
and whenever the Ravens play. I think that that's all
of those things are connected. And just being out there
I thought was a good sign, and and and and
and I liked the energy from the team today.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
The other really I liked Lamar's energy. He had a
little pep in his step. Yeah, like more than I've
seen in recent weeks during practicing. You know, he's just
taking snaps from under center and rolling back like in
a play action pass, and he's doing jump passes and stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Yeah. Yeah, like you like to see that.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
He's you can tell just from people that have been
around him for so many years here, like when he's
feeling better, and I think he is feeling better, you
you can you can.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Also tell, like the sense of urgency that he has,
and he he knows it's a five game season, uh,
five games left in the regular season, and like Lamar
understands basically that, like he understands this is the significance
of every single game and playoff opportunity at this point
of his career, and like he wants to maximize those
(16:52):
those chances. Because even though we just spent all that
time talking about Mark Andrews and getting that contract extension done,
there's a lot of pieces on the team that aren't
going to be back, and so the Ravens have the pieces.
They feel like right now they have the players, they
have the team, but they have to put it together
and first get to the dance and then see what happens.
Another nice note from practice today, and we talk about
(17:13):
pieces being on the field. The Ravens got two guys
back in the mix who are pretty significant players. One
is Tavius Robinson, who has been had foot surgery this season.
The others are Darius Washington, who tore his achilles back in.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
The spring in May.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yeah, and when John Harbaugh said earlier he had there's
a chance he could come back and play this season,
I think a lot of people kind of rolled their
eyes at that back in training camp and OTA's when
he made those comments. So there was still an opportunity
that he could come back and play. Well, he wasn't lying.
It's here we are in December, and Harball reiterated this
(17:50):
week that not only is he a bat Ardarius back
on the practice field, but he has an opportunity to
play in this week's game against the Steelers. Is remarkable.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, I mean he's eight months removed from the injury
and I think a lot of people expected, Okay, you know,
he's just getting back on the practice field. He's gonna
need time to ramp up, shake off the rust.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
And you know, even.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I'll mention it because our guy jeff' threebeck at the
Athletic who I have a ton of respect for it
does a great job.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
You know, it's just funny. He just got he roast
himself on this one.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
He was like, you know, obviously are he tweeted, obviously
our Darius isn't gonna play, but maybe Tavius has a
chance this week as the Steelers. Then harpball a couple
hours later, it's like, Tavius doesn't have a chance, but.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Maybe our Darius.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, so it's like, which I mean, I would have
probably agreed with Jeff's assessment before harp said that, Like
it was a surprise. You would think Tavius has been
sidelined for eight weeks. The other guy's been eight months.
Who's getting back on the game action earlier. But so
that was like the most surprising news of the day.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Jeff.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Jeff even like was like, just to make sure I'm
understanding correctly, like you're saying ar Darius has a chance
to play.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
He was so shocked he asked the question twice.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah, and on on Tavius, you mentioned this, but just
to be clear, John Harboll said that there's not a
chance for him to play this week, but again, he
has been designated to return, so he has this practice
window where he can come back, get practice reps under
his belt and then see if he can come back
and end up playing this season and just get his
kind of knock the rust off and make sure the
(19:24):
foot feels good and all that. So, and the question
on like my question on our Darius has been like, well,
where do you put him? The Ravens added to Lohi Gilman,
of course they drafted Malachi Starks, Marlon Humphrey's been playing
in the slot, Kyle Hamilton has been playing all over,
like where do the Ravens use him? And John Harbaugh
shed some light on that today, saying, like he plays
in the nickel. He plays a nickel spot, and so
it seems like that would be the most likely place
(19:47):
for the Ravens to use him if he goes out there,
ends up playing this week or in the near future.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, and the other player that returned from injury is
Nate Wiggins. You know, he suffered a foot injury in
the thanks Giving game which held him out for the
entire second half. He was back on the field today,
which was also really pleasant news. I thought I didn't know,
but certainly when a guy misses half of football, you
don't necessarily expect him out there the next chance. The
(20:13):
minibis certainly helps, but that was really good. He was
a limited participant. So we'll see how Nate Wiggins progresses
over the course of the week. But if our Darreus
can play, and that's it's possible. It's not probable, but
it's possible. If he can play, then that just gives
the Ravens that much more depth at corner. You know,
(20:34):
you have Marlin and Cheeto split in times that canate.
Does Nate play one hundred percent of the snaps like
he has been, you know, you just have a lot
more possibilities.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, and so all these things are are good signs
for this team as you get ready to play a
really physical game against the Steelers, knowing what's on the
horizon with that one.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah, absolutely, and you know this offense is gonna have
to get on track for shot. Bateman talked about that
in the locker room today, said it feels like it's
been out of sync really the whole season, and but
that they remain confident that they have the pieces, you know,
for what it takes, and that it's just a matter
of it kind of coming together and we've been waiting
(21:15):
a while, you know, but they're not ruling out hope.
He shot even said that you got to you got
to maintain your hope that you can play at that
level that you know you're capable of doing. And then
you know, Marlon Humphrey talked about and Rokwan Smith gave
a speech to the team about this game, the importance
of this game. Two six to six teams battle for
first place. You know what's on the line. And I
(21:37):
thought Marlon said it well today in the locker room
also that basically, if you can't get up for this game,
you know, you don't you don't belong in this game
and you might not even be a Raven. And uh
so I think that it has been stressed and it
probably doesn't even need to be stressed that much about
how big a game this is coming up against Steelers.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
A loo he going doesn't need to remind you.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, I was say a loo he going also talked
about that and said he's getting sick and tired of
people telling him he's not a raven until he beats
the Steelers. So he's hearing about nine times a day
and he's about out his limit. So so I think
I'm nominating you to go tell him tomorrow that he's
not a raven until he be servous.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
Just getting breakfast.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Hey, hello, Yeah, I don't know if you've heard this,
but you're not a rack until he just throws he
throws down right there, right then and there.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
Yeah, i'd like to see. I like to see what
happens there.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
But yeah, the Ravens no like it. It's one of
those situations where you don't need to talk about what's
at stake in the significance of things, but the Ravens are.
They're talking about it. And then ro Kwan Smith kind
of acknowledged that, like do you talk about this and
the road ahead and all this stuff? And he's he
basically said like, yeah, I'd be lying if if we didn't,
And and that's where he brought up the speech that
(22:46):
he made to the team and and it caught some
people's attention and caught Marlin's attention, and and he said that,
you know, that stuck out to him, and all of
it just made him think about the significance of this
game and the opportunity that the Ravens have and that
they're to be really locked in and take care of
business this week. So it's gonna be fun, it's gonna
be exciting day at Mt BAK Stadium Sunday.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
It's gonna be physical.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
It's gonna be physical, Garrett, and you know who who's physical,
Draymont Jones our guest.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Our guest coming up.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, and so we're gonna have Draymont on the pod
to talk about this rivalry and his first taste of
Raven Steelers.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
So that'll be exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Make sure you tune in for that, make sure you subscribe,
leave us a rating and review if you don't mind,
and of course you can email us at the lounge
at Ravens dot NFL dot net. Thanks for listening, and
congrats to Mark Andrews.
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