What does activating Mark Andrews mean for the Baltimore Ravens?

The Baltimore Ravens officially activated Mark Andrews for the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The decision made sense and was expected if you have been listening to John Harbaugh and watching the practice reports. Still, this is a big development and changes how the Ravens will match up against the Chiefs.

Baltimore Ravens are activating Mark Andrews for AFC Championship

There is also a good chance that Andrews could just be used as a decoy. Overall, Andrews may be healthy enough to suit up this week, but he is not quite back to his old 100% ways. Beyond that, the Baltimore Ravens have a stud at tight end right now in Isaiah Likely. 

Yes, when Andrews is at his best and fully healthy, he is better than Likely. However, Andrews will be rusty and coming in cold. He also will not be completely healthy as he just tries to make an impact. More than that, they have more wide receivers than ever before. Odell Beckham hardly played last week because Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor have been playing well. 

So, the Ravens may only play him in specific situations. They do not want to take the receivers or Likely off of the field for long enough stretches to get Andrews involved. It would be surprising to see him block at all, and he should only be in the game to make big catches when they need him. 

With a few third and longs and a few red zone trips, overall, he should play less than half of the snaps in his return to the Baltimore Ravens. If anything, forcing the Chiefs to gameplan around him and worrying about the thought that he will play could be the most impactful that Andrews has this week. 

Mark Andrews will play, but there is a real question about the impact.