Ravens Star Named Trade Asset Ahead of TE Decision

The one-two punch of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely on the Baltimore Ravens is one of the best tight end duos in recent memory - and certainly the best group in the NFL right now.

Both are considered to be top-10 players at the position, but their future on the same team may be in question.

They each are entering the final year of their current contracts. This will be Andrews' eighth year on the team, and his fourth since signing a four-year $56 million contract. Likely is now on his last year of his rookie contract after being drafted by Baltimore in 2022.

Andrews, 29, struggled a bit with injury last season, which allowed Likely, 25, to burst onto the scene and perform much better than anyone anticipated. He is now looked at as one of the best young tight ends in the league with the potential to turn into a star if he receives a spotlight all to himself.

This has urged Bleacher Report to label Andrews as Baltimore's most expendable piece in a trade, partly because an Andrews trade has already been explored in recent months.

"There has been no shortage of trade speculation involving veteran tight end Mark Andrews for some time now," Gary Davenport wrote. "Back before the NFL draft, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told reporters that the team wouldn’t rule anything out if he thought it makes the Ravens better.

“We have a lot of different balls in the air right now," DeCosta said. "That's probably what I would say on that. I'm not going to talk about what we're doing, what we're not doing behind the scenes business-wise with these guys. I don't think it's good for me to do that."

Although Andrews remains one of the best tight ends in the NFL when healthy, keeping him in Baltimore could get in the way of Likely's development, which would not be a productive plan if the Ravens' plan is to hand the youngster the keys later on.

Taking advantage of Andrews' high trade value now could save the Ravens' front office from a future headache of choosing between re-signing the aging veteran to another big deal or re-signing the blossoming talent who has promising ability to take over TE duties full-time.

For the immediate future, Baltimore could maximize this embarrassment of riches with other offensive weapons in former MVP Lamar Jackson and All-Pro Derrick Henry.

For the long-term? Baltimore will have a tough decision to make if they wait until after the 2025 season to decide on Andrews or Likely.