Ravens' Mark Andrews Motivated By Crucial Playoff Mistakes

"It's tough," Andrews said Wednesday in his first press availability since the Ravens season ended. "This is my life. I put a lot of work into this. Everything I do is focused on that. Everything I think about is focused on that. It wasn't the way that I planned it, but that's all part of the story."

Instead of wallowing in the guilt stemming from the role he played in the Ravens' inability to complete an incredible second-half comeback and advance to the AFC championship for the second year in a row, the three-time Pro Bowler converted that fuel into a driving force during offseason training.

"I've been using it, I've had an incredible offseason and I'm excited to show what I can continue to do," Andrews said.

Throughout the first seven years of his career, Andrews has been the Ravens' most consistent and prolific pass catcher, stepping up and making big plays in crucial moments. In 2024, he overcame a slow start as he recovered from a scary car accident and not only led the team with 11 receiving touchdowns but became the franchise's all-time leader in touchdowns during the regular season. Andrews wants to continue to prove that he can still be a reliable playmaker in the biggest moments.

"That's the thing about sports, it doesn't always fall your way (but) it's how you bounce back," Andrews said.

For a player who has been one of the greatest in franchise history, Andrews had to block out a lot of outside noise in the aftermath of the loss to the Bills. He did a lot of self-reflection and reassured himself of the kind of player he is and the work he put in to get to this level.

"For me, I've never been big on looking at the outside noise," Andrews said. "For as much bad as there is, those are just people just in their room twiddling their fingers but there's a lot of good people out there."

Andrew's strong support system played a key role in keeping his spirits uplifted and not letting the guilt consume him. He surrounded himself with a collection of "good people" that consisted of his girlfriend, family, close friends and some of his teammates.

“As a professional, it's all about being able to move past it, but (also) storing that in the memory bank, and understanding that this is not the end,” Andrews said. “This is something that I'm going to work with. I'm going to get better and improve and move on.”

The eighth-year veteran has also turned to and leaned heavily on his faith during what has been an offseason filled with uncertainty from trade speculation to be rumored to be a potential salary cap casualty heading into the final year of his contract.

“I'm thankful and I'm blessed,” Andrews said. “I continue to follow Jesus and continue my faith in God and I know things are going to work out and just continue to put the work to work in and good things happen.”

This offseason, Andrews has incorporated some of the training methods from Ravens' five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry whose longevity and ability to produce at an elite level at 30-plus years old he admires a great deal.

"He's a man of many tools and talents," Andrews said. "There's a lot there's a lot that goes into it and trying to be the best that you can be and he is man, he's, if not the best running back of all time and if you can learn from a guy like that that takes a beating, year after year and continues to get better, good things happen."

Andrews is grateful to still be on the Ravens roster and approves of the moves the front office has made during the offseason to retain and add more talent via free agency and the draft. He believes the team is "incredibly stacked" and is confident they can reach greater heights in the 2025 season as long as they stay the course.

"We have a lot of healthy competition going all around, which makes us better, drives us to be better," Andrews said. "This is going to be a dangerous team. I think that we keep our head down, keep working, stay humble, follow God, and you know, we're going to see what happens. You know, we don't, you know, play in January right now. We start right now and just just focus on getting better every day."