OWINGS MILLS — Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was back on the practice field for the first time since being involved in a car accident on August 14th.
Andrews will be able to play the regular-season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
Andrews is grateful that he was able to walk away from the accident but declined to get into more detail because he is still dealing with insurance issues. He said that missing practice time was not a byproduct of the accident.
“It’s extremely scary,” he said. “It was definitely a serious thing, and it kind of … For me, it puts things in perspective; tell the people that you’re around that you love them, and wear your seatbelt. You never know what’s going to happen on the road. You never know what things might be thrown at you, what things might come at you, and I’m very blessed and fortunate to – one – have God on my side and to be wearing my seatbelt. And, yes, it was a scary moment. It puts things in perspective, but I’m feeling good. I’m excited about the season.”
Last season, Andrews sustained a fractured fibula and ligament damage in his left ankle against Cincinnati on a controversial hip-drop tackle by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson on November 16th. Despite missing six games, Andrews still ranked second on the team with 45 receptions for 544 yards and six touchdowns, best among the receivers.
The NFL made the hip-drop tackle illegal this offseason.
Andrews acknowledged that the injury hampered him in a 17-10 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game when he caught his two targets for 15 yards. Andrews is looking forward to getting another opportunity to play against Kansas City.
“It’s big, and having the last game being played against them and not really feeling like myself just yet [at that time],” he said. “[My] body feels healthy. I’ve worked really hard this offseason, had a good camp. Obviously, it’s time to put the work in this season and just take it play by play, day by day and game by game. If we do that, we’re going to have a lot of success.”
Andrews looks forward to the potential matchup problems the Ravens could create when he is on the field with fellow tight end Isaiah Likely. With Andrews out last season, Likely became a primary target for quarterback Lamar Jackson and scored six touchdowns in the final seven games.
Andrews and Likely are playmakers and second-year offensive coordinator Todd Monken could use more multiple tight-end sets to take advantage of their strengths. He smiled when asked about that potential dynamic.
“We’re both very versatile players, and obviously, ‘Likes’ [Isaiah Likely] had an incredible camp, and we’re going to be able to do a lot of things together,” Andrews said. “That’s kind of ‘to be determined’ to see how that goes and see how we can work off each other, but there are a lot of … it’s just a dynamic duo, I think.”
Ravens re-sign Huntley: The Ravens re-signed backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to the practice squad after he was released by the Cleveland Browns, according to multiple reports.
Huntley, 26, was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted rookie from Utah in 2020, Over his four-year career in Baltimore, Huntley went 3-6 as the starter with a 64.6 completion percentage, 1,957 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He has a career 79.0 rating.