John Harbaugh says Mark Andrews ankle injury is likely season-ending

The Baltimore Ravens entered their Week 11 AFC North matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football already down a pair of former All-Pro players and before halftime of their eventual 34-20 victory, they lost another potentially for the remainder of the season.

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews went down with what looked like a serious ankle injury after being tackled from behind by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson after picking nine yards on a first-down reception. He immediately signaled for the trainers and was eventually ruled out for the rest of the game. In his post-game press conference, Head Coach John Harbaugh confirmed what the team, fan base, and fantasy owners across the globe feared by announcing that Andrews’ 2023 season is likely over.

“Mark Andrews has a very serious ankle injury,” Harbaugh said. “It looks like a season-ending injury so our prayers will be with Mark. Nobody cares more about the team and being there for the guys than Mark Andrews. So this is going to be hard for him but we’re going to be there for him all the way.”

The sixth-year veteran looked like he was in store for a big night after recording a pair of receptions for 23 receiving yards on the opening possession but now it appears his strong season will be coming to an end. In the Ravens’ first 10 games of the season, he ranked second on the team in targets (59), receptions (43), and receiving yards (521) behind rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers and led the team with six receiving touchdowns.

While the Ravens have a pair of promising second-year tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar who combined to record 1 reception for 13 yards on three targets after Andrews went down, losing him for the rest of the year is a huge blow for the offense.

Likely proved as a rookie that he is capable of stepping up and consistently making plays when given the opportunity with 36 receptions on 60 targets for 373 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and two starts last year. After the game in the locker room, he told reporters that he is dedicating the rest of this season to honor Andrews.

However, this unfortunate development most likely—no pun intended— means that the wide receivers will be an even bigger focal point in the passing game moving forward.

Three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. continued to heat up for the third straight week and recorded his first 100-plus-yard receiving game since the 2021 postseason. Standout rookie wideout Zay Flowers made several big plays in Thursday’s win including a 33-yard franchise record-breaking catch and run and 68-yard touchdown on a screen that was negated by a bogus penalty. Ninth-year veteran Nelson Agholor made the most of his lone reception of the night by taking a deflected pass 37 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.

“We’ve been bread and butter. Peanut butter and jelly. Whatever you want to call it,” quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “That’s very tough because that’s my boy. That’s Receiver 1 sometimes...We got Likely, we got Charlie, we git guys who are going to step up.”