Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson deflected questions about any contract extension talks he may or may not be having with the team on Tuesday following the first day of mandatory minicamp. However, one topic he was much more outspoken about was his continued support and unwavering faith in veteran tight end Mark Andrews.
The three-time Pro Bowler and all-time leader in touchdowns in franchise history faced more than his fair share of scrutiny in the months following costly mistakes in the Ravens’ narrow loss to the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 AFC Divisional round.
Jackson didn’t appreciate all the unyielding waves of hate and vitriol Andrews had to endure in both the media and court of public opinion. Players in the modern era are much more affected by negative press than those in years past with all the access social media gives fans to not only them, but to their loved ones.
“That guy is different,” Jackson said. “I’ve been seeing [him] get talked about [online], and I really don’t like that because he’s done so much for us. I’m off topic right now, but he’s done so much for us, and [the way that people treated him], I just don’t like that. Mark is still Mark. He’s still ‘Mandrews.'”
As brutal as Andrews’ fourth-quarter fumble and drop of what would’ve been the game-tying two-point conversion was in the Ravens loss to the Bills, Jackson believes there was plenty of blame to go around and shouldered some himself for the mistakes he made in the first half of that game by turning the ball over twice.
“I threw an interception – a bonehead interception – [and] fumbled the ball [in the] first half, and we still had a chance to win,” Jackson said. “Things happen. It’s not going to always go our way. That was probably our first [real] snow game, at that, not to blame it on the weather or anything like that, but it’s football. Everything is not going to [always] go right.”
Andrews used the hurt from last year’s premature playoff exit as fuel during the offseason when he was training away from the team. He can’t wait for the opportunity to showcase all his hard work and hopefully atone for past mistakes by coming up clutch in big moments during a contract year in 2025.
“As a professional, it’s all about being able to move past it, but (also) storing that in the memory bank, and understanding that this is not the end,” Andrews said last month during OTAs. “This is something that I’m going to work with. I’m going to get better and improve and move on.”
Jackson and Andrews came into the league together as top 100 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft and have experienced all the highs and lows of each other’s professional careers to date. They’ve been one of the most prolific and efficient connections of any quarterback and pass catcher tandem in the league during that span and are as hungry as ever to bring a Super Bowl back to Baltimore in what could very well be their last ride together.
“We’re going to bounce back, and when we come back, I feel like we are going to have vengeance on our minds,” Jackson said.
