Last night, the Ravens signed tight end Mark Andrews to a three-year contract extension. My initial breakdown focused on the financial details of the contract and why the Ravens might have made this decision. I really appreciated the discussions that proliferated in the comments about whether or not this was the right move. So much so, in fact, that I wanted to dedicate an entire article/thread giving my opinion and seeking yours on this simple question:
Should the Ravens have signed tight end Mark Andrews to a three-year, $39.3 million contract extension?
The case for:
- Value: Based on my assessment of the tight end market, $13.1 million per year is an appropriate value for Andrews. His $900k pay cut is even larger when you consider the increases in the salary cap since 2021. Back then, Andrews’ extension accounted for 7.7% of the salary cap. His new deal is just 4.5% of the current cap, which reflects his decline/lowered value that many fans have pointed out. I will also say that the teams and agents think of contracts in these terms more nowadays than they used to. And if you think about it, it makes sense. The salary cap isn’t about pure dollars and sense; it’s about resource allocation. There is a limited amount of cap space every year, so the percentage taken up by different players is more important than their raw dollar value. It’s also worth noting that Andrews will likely have a lower APY than Likely, so this deal allows the Ravens to keep one of their starting tight ends and save money for their other (more important) extensions.
- Pedigree: Andrews is a known quantity and perhaps one of the most proven tight ends in the league. I do believe that Isaiah Likely could put up some big numbers if he had a bigger target share on another team – I think similarly of Rashod Bateman – but we don’t know that for sure. Here’s what we know: Andrew is the franchise’s leading receiver and has been one of the best tight ends in the NFL for virtually his entire career. When he was a high-volume TE1, he produced some of the league’s best numbers at his position, and he continued to average over 50 yards per game even after Likely and Charlie Kolar were drafted until his brutal leg injury in 2023. He has also continually improved as a blocker.
- Intangibles:
- Leadership: Andrews is undoubtedly a respected leader in the Ravens’ locker room and a beloved player in The Castle generally. He has mentored Likely and Kolar since they came in the league and will continue to do so with Baltimore’s next crop of young tight ends.
- Grit/dedication: Fans also forget that Andrews went down in Week 11 on November 16 with a fractured fibula and damage to a ligament in his ankle and only missed seven games. He fought as hard as he could to return in the...
Baltimore Beatdown
