Ravens tease Mark Andrews return, rule out signing Zach Ertz

John Harbaugh held his usual Monday press conference in the leadup to the Week 14 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens (9-3) and the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) following the return of the Flock from their bye, and he touched on many topics including the potential addition of veteran superstar tight end Zach Ertz.

Harbaugh discussed Ertz's release and the rumors linking the former Arizona Cardinals playmaker to the Ravens, although he made clear that the franchise is happy with the players they already have in tow, nearly ruling out the signing of Ertz in the next few days.

To be fair, the Ravens have a pair of capable (albeit young and inexperienced) tight ends in Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar, so it's not that they are lacking depth at the position following the injury suffered by Mark Andrews in the game agains the Benglans in Week 11.

As captured by Jamison Hensley of ESPN in the post above, Harbaugh said, "I would say this: we like our TEs. We really like our guys."

Most promisingly, however, is what Harbaugh had to say about the potential return of Andrews for the playoffs. "I’m not ruling out Mark Andrews for down the road." The coach added, "Mark is so darned tough, one of those guys that really and truly eats, sleeps and breathes football, that's Mark Andrews."

"He’s going to do everything he can to get back down the road," Harbaugh finished.

The Ravens coach acknowledged the fact that the franchise certainly studied the possibility of adding Ertz by saying "Any time a great player is out there, you look at it," which we have to assume the Ravens did before coming to the ultimate decision of sticking to their current guns and hoping for Andrews' return.

During Andrews' absence in Week 12, the first game he missed in full after taking a few snaps in Week 11 before going down, Likely and Kolar split their participation on the Ravens offensive plays on around a three-to-one ratio.

"Our young guys, they’re real guys, they’re real players. I think right now, we’ll roll with those guys," said Harbaugh.

So far this season, Likely has tallied 129 yards on 13 receptions without a touchdown while Kolar has 13 yards on a single catch. In Week 12, Likely led all Ravens with 40 yards on four receptions while Kolar didn't get a target.

Ertz is expected to sign with a Super Bowl contender, which means he will most probably choose (if all three offer him a contract, that is) between the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, as we reported last Saturday.

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