Ravens TE Mark Andrews officially inactive for Week 1 game vs Texans

The Baltimore Ravens have made their decision on tight end Mark Andrews. He’ll be inactive for the team’s Week 1 game against the Houston Texans.

Ian Rapoport reported that it’s Andrews’ quadriceps injury that is going to keep him out of the game.

The loss of Mark Andrews is obviously a huge one for the Ravens. He’s one of the best tight ends in football and has become vital to Baltimore’s passing attack. However, the writing was on the wall as he was a limited participant in practice throughout the week.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Andrews is known as an excellent fantasy football tight end. As a result of his late scratch, many are going to be scrambling to find a replacement for him.

Last year, Andrews had 847 receiving yards on 73 receptions with five touchdowns in 15 games. It was a step back from his phenomenal 2021 numbers.

While Mark Andrews did show progress throughout the week, practicing when he had missed the previous six. Baltimore made up its mind. It’s better to lose him today than risk a long-term injury that could disrupt the entire season.

In his place, quarterback Lamar Jackson will look to second-year tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. They have big shoes to fill this week. Luckily, they’re not alone with rookie Zay Flowers and star free agent Odell Beckham Jr. making their debuts with the team this season.

Baltimore will hope to have Mark Andrews back for Week 2, when the Ravens travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in what is expected to be an incredibly important division matchup.

Mark Andrews suplexed Commanders defensive back at joint practice

This offseason, there were several notable fights during training camps. One of those involved the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Commanders. Right in the middle of that dust-up was Mark Andrews who even went viral with his actions that led to a scuffle.

After a play was over, a defensive back on the Commanders grabbed a ball that Andrews dropped. He took exception to that, grabbed the defensive back, and put a wrestling move on him to get him on the ground. Naturally, Washington responded.

REALLY HEATING UP!#Ravens tight end Mark Andrews body slams #Commanders CB Danny Johnson

Shoves and scuffles ensue#HTTC @nbcwashington @JPFinlayNBCS pic.twitter.com/RopNJUbvKz

— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) August 15, 2023

As far as fights go, things could have been worse. It was mostly just pushing and shoving as the two teams came together. Eventually, everyone would be separated and practice would go on.

However, it was clear that tempers were still raised after that and the two teams would fight again later in practice. That fight saw punches thrown.