What Extending the Ravens Triple Crown Receiver Means for the Baltimore Tight End Exodus
On December 3rd, 2025, the Baltimore Ravens announced they had agreed to an extension for one-time All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews. The contract is a three-year deal worth $39.3 million, including $26 million in guaranteed money. The extension comes days after Andrews broke the Ravens’ all-time reception record and two weeks after breaking the Ravens’ all-time yards record, both held by former Raven Derrick Mason. The new franchise triple crown receiver will remain in Baltimore until after the 2028 season.
Drafted in the third round out of Oklahoma in 2018, Andrews has recorded 473 receptions for 5,862 yards and 56 touchdowns. Along with being a triple crown receiver, Andrews has multiple other franchise records, like most catches in a season, yards in a season, and longest reception by a tight end. The three-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro was nearing the end of his four-year extension signed back in 2021, but he earns the chance to continue contributing to the current Super Bowl window for Baltimore. While the signing is great news to keep an all-time Raven in Baltimore, it does raise concerns about the overall roster makeup as we inch closer to the end of the 2025 NFL Season and the beginning of the 2026 NFL Free Agency cycle.
All three rostered tight ends in Baltimore were scheduled to hit the market in March 2026. Now that Andrews is locked into the puzzle, it creates concern for fans who wanted to re-sign Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Both drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Likely and Kolar have had their moments on the field, making plays and winning games for the Ravens. However, money will be tight. Can the Ravens justify giving a backup tight end good money while other positions are part of the reason the Ravens are 6-6 and on the cusp of missing the playoffs?
Amid the fallout of Andrews’ dismal performance in the divisional loss to Buffalo, fans, understandably angry, wanted to kick the now 30-year-old tight end to the curb and extend the now 25-year-old Likely, adding youth to the roster. Likely made some great plays in his three years, and the 2025 season was going to be the deciding factor whether the Coastal Carolina alumnus would stay in Baltimore. Cowboys’ TE Jake Ferguson signed a massive deal in late July, giving the Ravens the framework to finish an extension with Likely, but as reports flew in that the contract was finalized, Likely fractured his foot in practice, forcing him to get surgery and miss all of preseason plus a chunk of the regular season. Since his return, Likely has 18 receptions for 223 yards and zero touchdowns. Likely would have scored his first touchdown of the season on Thanksgiving, in a display of his true athleticism, but had the ball punched out, hurdling a defender just inches before the goal line. It is a possibility that the Likely mistake on Thanksgiving is what sealed his fate in Baltimore, or maybe it was the fact that the Ravens believe Andrews still has competitive gas in his tank after breaking multiple franchise records.
As for Kolar, it is hard to believe he would be a starter in the NFL. Never recording more than 10 receptions in a single season, Kolar is averaging one target per game in 2025. However, while the former Iowa State Cyclone is not breaking records in the box score, his impact in heavier formations of the running game and special teams cannot go unnoticed. His chemistry in the locker room has him as a fan-favorite. He could easily be re-signed to a smaller deal that is more friendly towards being on a competitive team with Super Bowl aspirations as a piece to letting others be successful.
Here is what I think could be the best-case scenario for Baltimore. Now that Mark Andrews is a Raven until at least 2028, barring any trades or a release for any number of reasons, the Ravens should give Isaiah Likely a one or two-year deal that is more of a premium backup salary. If the Ravens were to load Likely’s contract with performance-based incentives, Likely could work his way up to a premium starter contract with the Ravens, as Andrews might be ready to move on, or another team that sees the value that Ravens fans see in him. For Kolar, a one-year deal could suffice so he can be a star in ways other than catching touchdowns. Sad to say, it could also be realistic that the Ravens move on from Kolar, as it could be easier and cheaper to find another run-blocking special teams third-string tight end.
The Baltimore tight end exodus is a story to watch over the next few months. It is important to keep in mind that the Ravens still need to make decisions on restructuring or extending QB Lamar Jackson to have a chance at securing extensions for center Tyler Linderbaum, fullback Patrick Ricard, edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, and newly acquired players like safety Alohi Gilman and edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones, just to name a few. The team could look very different next July. If the money is not allocated correctly, the Baltimore rebuild may take place sooner than many originally thought.
