Ravens Could Trade Star TE

The Baltimore Ravens' anxiety is getting real, as they've made known with a few telling transactions. With their once-lauded defense looking particularly lackadaisical amidst the team's 1-4 start, they backed up their desire for change by bringing in a few playmaking safeties in C.J. Gardner-Johnson through free agency and Alohi Gilman via trade.

Now that fans can taste the urgency, chatter surrounding their next, bigger move has erupted. There's no shortage of positions to look at when trying to pick the Ravens' most demanding roster needs, and some have already re-ignited the stove under one of their most popular trade chips.

Mark Andrews hasn't felt like a secure, long-term Raven ever since he cost the team with an untimely drop in last year's playoffs, with the months of uncertainty that followed overshadowing the front office's eventual admission of their trust in the franchise tight end. Even after he somewhat reclaimed his reliability within the offense after another slow start to the season, his status still feels uncertain.

The Cleveland Browns' choice to send veteran stand-in Joe Flacco cross-state to the Cincinnati Bengals had to look like a checkered flag to other teams looking to find their missing piece, and Fox Sports' James Edwards is already figuring that Andrews, still serviceable on a Ravens team that may not outrun their injuries before the season's end, serves as perfect trade bait.

"At 30 years old, Andrews is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal that will pay him $11 million in total compensation this season," he wrote. "With the Ravens scuffling at 1-3 and Baltimore already having a talented younger tight end on the roster in Isaiah Likely, Andrews could be an appealing trade candidate for a contender in need of a quality tight end."