The coming months are not going to be easy for the Baltimore Ravens. They already had to make some tough decisions when they fired John Harbaugh, but this year’s free agency class will present some even tougher calls.
As long as Baltimore finds a way to extend center Tyler Linderbaum, you won’t hear many Ravens fans complaining about what goes on with their remaining free agents. However, there are still a ton of talented players in need of new contracts. Among those is tight end Isaiah Likely.
After extending tight end Mark Andrews late in the 2025 season, it became evident that Likely was staring down an uncertain future in Charm City. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, it seems Likely’s time as a Raven could be nearing an end. In a recent article, he didn’t completely rule out a return, but he highlighted that Likely and Baltimore’s front office have yet to make much progress on a contract extension.
“Likely is extremely close with Lamar Jackson, so it’s hard to completely rule out a Baltimore return,” Zrebiec wrote. “However, over the past eight months, the Ravens made no progress in their efforts to extend Likely, and they’ve since paid Andrews. It would be extremely hard for them to have two guys making top-eight tight end money with all their needs elsewhere.”
He once appeared to be the future of Baltimore’s tight end room, but unfortunately, the clock is ticking on the end of Likely’s time in Charm City.
Ravens nearing tough end with exciting weapon Isaiah Likely
Likely has been an exciting playmaker since the moment he landed with the Ravens. He’s developed into a matchup nightmare at the tight end position, displaying freakish athletic traits, all while being an absolute monster at the catch point. He was a big-play dynamo at times, but all good things must come to an end.
All the signs have been there for Likely’s eventual departure. The Ravens chose their long-time franchise tight end, Mark Andrews, over him with that extension in December 2025, and Likely was recently seen liking an Instagram reply referring to a potential hometown reunion with the New England Patriots. It seems both sides have a mutual interest in going their separate ways.
It feels like a bit of an unfair end to Likely’s story with the Ravens. After slowly breaking out over his first three seasons, many projected him to reach his full potential in 2025. That didn’t happen, largely due to a poorly timed injury.
Likely broke a bone in his foot in late July and missed the first three games of the regular season. After missing some critical parts of the offseason and early season, he never found a rhythm. He finished the frustrating campaign with 27 receptions, 307 yards, and one touchdown.
There may have been some hope entering the offseason that the Ravens could somehow extend Likely on a cheaper prove-it deal. It doesn’t sound like that’ll be the case, though. If Likely gets top-eight tight end money like Zrebiec explained, there would be pretty much a zero percent chance that he returns to Baltimore.
It was a fun run in those four years with the Ravens, but the money that could be used on Likely will probably be used elsewhere, and rightfully so. While the 25-year-old was a fan favorite, the front office has other needs to tend to.