The Baltimore Ravens 2024 season ended in rather painful fashion, with star tight end Mark Andrews failing to corral a 2-point conversion pass from Lamar Jackson that would’ve tied the game and likely forced overtime.
Despite there being well over a minute left had the Ravens converted, Andrews has since shelved a ton of the blame for Baltimore coming up short. While head coach John Harbaugh had spoken to the media shortly thereafter and discussed Andrews, saying “Mark is a huge part of our future,” that sentiment might have have taken a shift based on Eric DeCosta words about the Ravens’ tight end room on Tuesday: “I think Mark is a great player,” DeCosta stated.
“We’re blessed to have three really good tight ends [Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar] under contract this year … I mean, Mark’s gonna go down as one of our great players, he’ll be in the ring of honor some day. I love having Mark on the team, he’s an awesome player, I know he’s gonna have an amazing season.”
There’s a decent amount to read into there, and while DeCosta continued to discuss it delicately, many fans and media members are interpreting his words as a goodbye without actually saying goodbye. “We’ll figure out all the roster machinations over the coming weeks, but I can tell you there’s no bigger fan of Mark Andrews than me,” DeCosta explained. Reactions to DeCosta’s overall words had a a mix of emotions, but ultimately many viewed it as a form of bidding farewell to the popular tight end: “While he didn’t outright say it, it felt like Eric DeCosta gave an appreciative farewell to Mark Andrews. He may have played his last game in Baltimore,” Sarah Ellison posted to X. “Eric DeCosta looks very calculated with the thing he’s saying about Mark Andrews.
It feels a little bit like a goodbye message,” posted another. And another user on X, clearly sensing a trade to be inevitable, let his blunt opinion be known: “Trading Mark Andrews would be the dumbest thing we’ve since trading Bolden.” Whatever ends up happening with Andrews,
it’s kind of understandable to see Ravens fans reacting like his departure is a foregone conclusion after watching DeCosta appear to be so careful with his words. It’s worth noting that Andrews does have just one year remaining on his contract, with a cap hit of $16.9 million.