Ravens TE Mark Andrews expected to play in Week 7 despite knee injury
By Justin Fried
The Baltimore Ravens are expected to be without a few notable players on Sunday, but one star who isn’t set to miss any time is tight end Mark Andrews.
Andrews was held out of practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with a knee injury, and although head coach John Harbaugh insisted it wasn’t serious, concern was raised when he missed consecutive practices.
The All-Pro tight end returned as a limited participant on Friday which offered some optimism that he’d be able to suit up for the team’s Week 7 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. And that’s exactly what’s expected to happen.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported late Saturday night that Andrews is expected to play against the Browns despite his knee injury. That’s good news for a Ravens’ offense that desperately needs their star tight end.
Mark Andrews is an integral part of the Ravens offense
Perhaps no player, aside from Lamar Jackson, is more important to this Ravens offense than Mark Andrews. In fact, you could argue he’s the second-most important player on the entire team.
Andrews currently leads the Ravens with 39 catches for 455 yards and five touchdowns through just six games. He’s tied with Travis Kelce for the most yards of any tight end this season and ranks second in catches and touchdowns.
Even with Rashod Bateman expected to return in Week 7, it’s not fun to imagine what this Ravens offense would look like without Andrews. The likes of Isaiah Likely, Josh Oliver, and Nick Boyle just couldn’t fill Andrews’ role.
It remains to be seen whether or not Andrews will be hampered by the injury, one he seemingly suffered this past week against the New York Giants. That said, it sounds more likely that the Ravens were just playing it cautious with their star player.
Harbaugh even referred to Andrews’ first missed practice as a “rest day” which certainly implies that whatever knee injury he was dealing with wasn’t a serious one.
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Nonetheless, the Ravens are expected to have Mark Andrews for today’s game. Ravens fans can all breathe a sigh of relief.