Mark Andrews reflects on his costly playoff drop, looks for redemption with the Ravens

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens made plenty of mistakes in their loss at Buffalo in last season’s playoffs.

The final one belonged to Mark Andrews, who let a tying 2-point conversion pass slip through his hands.

It’s not an easy thing to get over.

“It’s tough. This is my life,” Andrews said Wednesday. “I put a lot of work into this and everything I do is kind of focused on that. Everything I think about is focused on that, and so it wasn’t the way that I had planned it, but that’s all part of the story.”

Andrews didn’t talk to local reporters after the season ended, and this was his first post-practice availability. There was some question as to whether he’d be back with Baltimore, given his contract situation and the team’s depth at tight end, but the 29-year-old Andrews is still with the Ravens, eyeing his eighth season.

Before the drop against Buffalo, it had been another productive season for Andrews, who caught a career-high 11 touchdown passes and played in all 17 regular-season games for the first time since 2021. Like most of Baltimore’s core, he has little left to prove in the regular season. The big question looking forward is whether the Ravens can avoid the types of self-inflicted issues that have derailed potential Super Bowl runs in the past — and Andrews is certainly under more scrutiny now.

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“That’s the thing about sports is that it doesn’t always fall your way,” he said. “It doesn’t always go your way, but it’s how you bounce back.”

For Andrews, that’s meant leaning on family and others in his circle.

“Really just surrounded myself with good people, not look at the outside noise and look myself in the mirror obviously, and just know the type of player that I am, know the type of work that I put in, and, as a professional, it’s all about being able to move past it,” Andrews said. “But storing that in the memory bank and understanding that this is not the end. This is something that I’m going to work with, I’m going to get better and improve and move on.”

The Ravens didn’t have too many significant losses in free agency this offseason, especially once they retained left tackle Ronnie Stanley. A year from now, however, the roster could look a lot different, especially at tight end.

Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar all have expiring contracts this season. With the 25-year-old Likely producing quite a bit himself, Andrews could become expendable.

“I focus on myself and this team and let all the other stuff deal however it’s going to be dealt with, but I’m extremely excited to be here,” Andrews said. “This is an incredible organization. I’m very thankful to be here for my eighth year.”

Likely sounds particularly glad to have Andrews back.

“I have to tell everybody, that’s big brother. I’m glad everybody’s speculation has died down, and I finally have to give him a hug when he came in because we’re finally back at it, finally back on the turf together,” Likely said. “He’s been teaching me since I got here, since I stepped foot (into) being a Raven. From run game, pass game, how to watch film, how to take care of my body and really just take care of every moment in the league. So, I’m glad to have him back.”

At the tight end position and elsewhere, the Ravens still have a wealth of talent. It’s a team that hopes postseason failures of the past will finally stay in the past.

“It’s learning from mistakes, and the beautiful thing is everybody that’s here — we have a lot of guys that are coming back from last year and the year before, and obviously in the years past — so we’ve been able to learn a lot,” Andrews said. “Obviously, I wish we didn’t have to go through that again last year, but we’ve added a lot of guys, too. A lot of guys that are flying around, and this team is incredibly stacked with incredible players.”

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