Ravens TE Mark Andrews addresses playoff drop on Instagram: 'I'm devastated'

Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun on Jan 23, 2025

Published in Football

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BALTIMORE — Mark Andrews broke his silence.

The Ravens’ highly regarded, veteran tight end did not speak to reporters Sunday night in Buffalo after dropping a potential game-tying 2-point conversion in Baltimore’s AFC divisional round loss. Nor did he make himself available to reporters the following afternoon at the team’s locker room clean-out in Owings Mills.

Andrews collected his thoughts in an Instagram post uploaded Thursday afternoon to address what he called a “shock and disappointment unlike anything I’ve felt before.”

His three-picture carousel included a close-up of a stoic Andrews with eye-black under his focused eyes, a locker room dap up with Lamar Jackson and a photo Baltimore’s all-time touchdowns leader peeking out of a locker stall dramatized by a black and white filter.

Andrews’ caption, in part, reads, “It’s impossible to adequately express how I feel. I’m absolutely gutted by what happened on Sunday. I’m devastated for my teammates, my coaches and Ravens fans. I pour every ounce of my being into playing at the highest level possible, because I love my team and the game of football like nothing else. That is why it’s taken me until now to collect my thoughts and address this publicly.”

In the hours and days that followed Andrews’ heartbreaking drop in the corner of the end zone, his teammates offered praise and words of encouragement. They tried to put the moment in perspective. Despite the vitriol from dark corners of the internet, teammates and coaches humanized Andrews. Some Bills fans even started raising money toward a charity Andrews supports.

“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,” catch John Harbaugh said, later adding, “Mark is a huge part of our future.”

His drop has turned into a days-long news story, in part because the Ravens now have three tight ends each with one year left on their contract: Jackson’s security blanket, Andrews; Isaiah Likely, a quickly ascending pass catcher; and perhaps the best blocking tight end of the trio, Charlie Kolar.

The final year of Andrews’ contract is slated to carry the team’s fourth-highest salary cap hit at $16.9 million. Tough decisions loom.

General manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday during his and Harbaugh’s end-of-year news conference, “We’re blessed to have, in my opinion, the best tight ends room in the league and we’ll be blessed this year on the field as well.”

Andrews finished the regular season with 673 yards on 55 catches for 11 touchdowns — among the best of his career. Much of it will be remembered for a fourth quarter fumble and the drop late in Sunday’s loss.

“I refuse to let the situation define me,” he wrote. “I promise that this adversity will only make me stronger and fuel us as we move forward. … Even when the moment seems darkest, perspective can reveal that there’s still a lot of light in this world. I’m now going to do my part to bounce back and contribute to it.”

His teammates and Ravens fans flooded the comments section with support. Unless Andrews pops up on a podcast in the near future, it’s likely the Instagram caption will be his only time addressing the matter until OTAs in April or May.