Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

John Harbaugh Firmly Addresses Mark Andrews' Future With Ravens

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tim Ryan | Last updated Jan 22, 2025 12:38 PM ET

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta met with the media on Wednesday morning, discussing an array of topics with a heavy focus on individual performances from a number of key players.

While DeCosta mentioned he has every expectation that kicker Justin Tucker, who struggled mightily this season by his lofty standards, will be kicking for the Ravens next year and beyond, Harbaugh addressed the elephant in the room that is Mark Andrews.

The Ravens longtime head coach indicated he's communicated with the 29-year-old tight end to emphasize his importance to the team, and also addressed Andrews' future with the franchise going forward:

John Harbaugh on Mark Andrews

“Mark is a huge part of our future” pic.twitter.com/WHtaHMHfXC
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) January 22, 2025

"Mark Andrews is one of the very best football players, one of the most committed football players," Harbaugh said. "Nobody cares more about the success of this football team than Mark Andrews ... One of my messages to him was we are not where we're at throughout the course of the season or in the [playoff] game without the contributions of Mark."

If Harbaugh's strong stance on Andrews wasn't already clear enough, he cemented it with the following words:

"I love Mark Andrews. Eric [DeCosta] loves Mark. All of our players love Mark," Harbaugh continued. "Mark is a huge part of our future and we love him. And we're there for him. If anybody 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."

Yes, Sunday's crucial drop by Andrews will likely be thought about and incessantly debated for some time, possibly until the Ravens take the field in Week 1 next season.

But for a player like Andrews who is still in his prime and coming off a season where he grabbed a career-high 11 touchdowns, it would have been somewhat surprising if Harbaugh didn't make a point to drive home the significance of his role on the team.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: