Which TE Makes Most Sense for Chiefs Should Kelce Not Return

Kansas City would happily take Mark Andrews, who would transition from Lamar Jackson to Patrick Mahomes

Jan 4, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (89) scores a touch down during the second quarter against Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit (9) at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Mark Andrews wasn’t the most popular person in Baltimore after a divisional-playoff loss at Buffalo. The Chiefs would be more than happy to help with that situation.

Should Travis Kelce retire before the team’s mid-March deadline, go ahead and picture Andrews as his replacement in Kansas City. Insider Dan Graziano said Monday morning on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike that Andrews could be a cap casualty. And if that happens, well, Andy Reid likely wouldn’t waste time putting Andrews’ name on a new red and gold jersey.

Andrews turns 30 in September. Entering the last season of the four-year, $56 million extension he signed in 2021, Andrews is expected to carry a $16.9 million cap hit in 2025. And even before enduring one of the worst games of his career, Andrews and his contract were on the Ravens' list of difficult after-the-season decisions.

Part of a franchise-turning 2018 draft, Andrews joined the Ravens the same year they drafted Lamar Jackson. Over seven years in a Baltimore uniform, Andrews is the franchise’s all-time career leader with 51 touchdown receptions. He also needs 36 catches and 248 yards to eclipse the Ravens’ career records in those categories.

Complicating matters, or perhaps clarifying them for the Ravens, tight end Isiah Likely also is entering the final year of his rookie contract. One of the league’s most dangerous tight ends, the younger Likely came within a toenail of upsetting the Chiefs in Week 1 last season. And while he could end up back in Baltimore on his own contract extension, it’s hard to imagine a situation in which both Likely and Andrews return to the Ravens in 2025.

It’s also hard to imagine the Ravens releasing Andrews and knowing a team like the Chiefs – one of two AFC organizations most believe stands between Baltimore and a Super Bowl – could sign him.

Even if Kelce decides to return, the Chiefs could terminate their future Hall of Fame tight end in a cap-saving move.

So, go ahead and imagine Andrews leaving Jackson to join Patrick Mahomes. That could be the path the All-Pro takes in the next month.

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