Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is out for the team’s season opener against the Houston Texans on Sunday as he deals with a quad injury, the team announced Sunday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Andrews was listed as questionable on the Ravens’ injury report Friday.
- The 28-year-old was limited in practice this week and missed workouts the week prior.
- Andrews said Thursday he was “feeling good” but taking his recovery “day by day.” He added: “It’s been one of those things that’s been a little tricky.”
- The Athletic has live coverage of NFL Week 1 including analysis, reactions and highlights from across the league.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What this means for the Ravens
You don’t want to be dismissive of Andrews’ absence. He is Lamar Jackson’s favorite target and one of the best players in the league at his position. However, the Ravens enter the season with one of the better receiving corps that they’ve ever had. They also have two young pass-catching tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Likely played well last year in games where Andrews was sidelined. They have plenty of weapons to pick up the slack. — Zrebiec
Why Baltimore is smart to play the long game
Andrews practiced all week, but he was limited. He didn’t look particularly compromised in the portions of practice open to media, but he hasn’t practiced much over the last 10 days. If he was 100 percent, he would have been a full participant at some point during the week. Ravens play three of their next four games after Sunday on the road against AFC North teams.
The idea should be to have Andrews as healthy as possible for that stretch. That’s why holding him out Sunday shouldn’t be a major surprise. — Zrebiec
Fantasy impact
Most of us just finished our drafts, and while the urge to run and add Likely is strong, there are a couple of things to consider.
First, Likely only has two career games with more than 50 receiving yards. Second, this is a brand new Todd Monken offense and we aren’t 100 percent sure what kind of role the TE will even have. Resist the urge to look like the smartest one in the room this early in the season and leave him on the wire.
That all being said, if you have Andrews, you absolutely have to grab Likely right now to cover a surprise inactive. If Likely is gone, consider picking up TEs like Hayden Hurst and Logan Thomas to make sure you have a tight end for Week 1. — Di Fino
Backstory
Andrews, a three-time Pro Bowler, caught 73 receptions for 847 yards and five touchdowns last season. The 2018 third-round draft pick had 107 receptions for 1,361 yards and nine TDs a year earlier, earning an All-Pro nod.
Required reading
(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
