Ravens' Most Likely Trade Candidate is No Surprise

The countless trade rumors surrounding Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews just keep on coming.

Andrews, 29, has been a key piece of the Ravens' offense since his arrival in 2018, but became public enemy No. 1 to some fans following the team's Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills in January, in which he dropped the potential game-tying two-point conversion. That, along with the fact that the Ravens could save $11 million against the cap by moving on from him, has made Andrews a very popular trade candidate over the past few months.

Recently, FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchiano named Andrews as the Ravens' most likely trade candidate ahead of the NFL Draft, adding even more fuel to the fire.

"There's no doubt he's a favorite target of QB Lamar Jackson when he's healthy and playing well, but he's not the elite tight end he was four years ago," Vacchiano wrote. "He's reliable, steady and a good red-zone target, but he's also about to turn 30 and will be a free agent next year. He still has value to contending teams.

"He could be expendable to the Ravens, though, because they may see more upside in 25-year-old tight end Isaiah Likely. They'd have to commit to Likely, though, because he's scheduled to be a free agent in March, too."

Likely, a 2022 fourth-round pick, has shown great potential, hauling in 11 touchdowns over the past two years. He was arguably at his best when Andrews missed the latter half of the 2023 season, when he had six touchdowns in as many gamesb (including playoffs), so he has shown he can be a great No. 1 option.

However, the Ravens seem committed to keeping Andrews on the roster for at least one more season, if head coach John Harbaugh's words are anything to go by.

"Mark is in a good place," Harbaugh told reporters on March 31. "He's working really hard. I do fully expect him to be playing for us next year. He's just too good a player. Obviously, with any player, there's always that – probably any player – it's just coaches [and] players ... It's the National Football League. That's part of the deal, with things happening, so I never could say anybody ... but Mark would be one of the few guys I would expect to be here, so we'll see what happens. My plans are that we've got Mark, we've got Isaiah, we've got Charlie [Kolar, and] we've got Pat Ricard all in place doing all those jobs."