Even with the dust still settling on the conclusion of the Ravens’ season, team brᴀss are looking to their future, which includes embattled тιԍнт end Mark Andrews.
Speaking to the media Wednesday following Sunday’s Divisional Round loss to the Bills, head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta lauded the dedication and mental toughness of Andrews, whose fourth-quarter fumble and late drop have been under a microscope following the 27-25 defeat.
“Mark Andrews is a great football player, and he’s also a very tough-minded individual. So yeah, he takes it hard cause he cares so much,” Harbaugh, 62, said. “I love Mark Andrews, Eric loves Mark, all of our players love Mark. Mark is a huge part of our future, we love him and we’re there for him. If anyone can take a tough circumstance like that and handle it with class and grace and dignity and mental toughness, it’s most definitely Mark Andrews.”
Andrews, 29, failed to haul in a pᴀss from quarterback Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win-or-go-home contest in Buffalo.
Jackson, 28, had led an eight-play, 88-yard touchdown drive to put the Ravens within two points of Buffalo.
The quarterback tried to connect for a two-point conversion with Andrews, who couldn’t hold onto the ball in frigid Western New York, with Buffalo ultimately punching its ticket to an AFC Championship matchup against the Chiefs.
Both Harbaugh and Jackson defended the тιԍнт end afterward.
“We’re a team,” Jackson said. “…It’s not his fault. We’re not gonna put that on Mark.”
Harbaugh stated the Ravens “wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews,” a sentiment he reiterated in Wednesday’s gathering.
“One of my messages to him was we are not where we’re at throughout the course of the season or in the game without the contributions of Mark,” the longtime Ravens coach said Wednesday.
Andrews is entering the final year of a four-year, $56 million extension he signed in 2021 — three years after the team selected him with the 86th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Although DeCosta did not publicize his communications with Andrews at Wednesday’s press conference, the GM said the team will “have some decisions to make” as other тιԍнт ends are also entering the final year of their pacts.
Amid what’s been a challenging few days for Andrews, who did not speak to the media after Sunday’s game, Bills Mafia has offered its support.
Buffalo fans have set up a GoFundMe to raise money on behalf of Breakthrough T1D, a non-profit centered on finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes that Andrews supports amid his own diagnosis.
Over $70,000 has been raised as of Wednesday afternoon.