Jets Could Acquire Disgraced Ravens Tight End To Replace Tyler Conklin

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has one year left on his contract with the Ravens, but he might benefit from leaving Baltimore after what transpired on Sunday night.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Andrews is a really good football player. Secondly, he shouldn’t feel disgraced or ashamed about what happened versus the Buffalo Bills, because two huge mistakes in a football game do not define a man.

But that doesn’t mean Ravens fans will adhere to the above principle. Unfortunately, professional sports sometimes manifest cursed situations in which a certain player has an impossible time escaping from outside noise (or inner demons) based on past events, and the fumble-and-drop combo that Andrews suffered from on Sunday has all the makings of a nightmare that could haunt him forever in Baltimore.

Sure, Andrews could ride out the storm and maybe even redeem himself in next year’s playoffs — thereby exorcising what just happened — but with only a year left on his Ravens deal, maybe it’s high time to get a fresh start somewhere else while he’s still in his prime.

No, Andrews shouldn’t request a trade or anything, but if another team came calling for his services, he’d probably benefit from the change of scenery.

Enter the New York Jets, who are facing a tight end vacancy in 2025.

Tyler Conklin is a free agent, and New York might not be re-signing him.

On Saturday, SNYtv’s Lucas Hutcherson spelled out the pros and cons of the Jets bringing back Conklin, but for the sake of this Andrews idea, let’s look at the cons.

“Although Conklin was a dependable contributor in 2024, his production was inconsistent during the period after which Todd Downing took over the playcalling,” Hutcherson said.

“Although Conklin prides himself on being able to line up anywhere, his blocking has typically been inconsistent. He’s been employed increasingly less often in pass protection over the past few seasons, suggesting they don’t really trust him in that role, and his run-blocking grades ... have been poor while showing no sign of improvement.”

“Conklin also isn’t a dynamic big-play threat. He doesn’t break tackles and averaged just 8.8 yards per catch in 2024, the lowest number he’s posted since 2019. While he did catch a career-high four touchdown passes, he hasn’t typically been much of a red zone threat in his career with just seven touchdowns in the previous six seasons.”

Conklin made $7 million in 2024 — conveniently, the same figure that Andrews is set to earn in 2025.

By trading for Andrews, the Jets could essentially swap out Conklin for a very similar player who was more productive in 2024.

Andrews and Conklin are both 29 years old with seven years of NFL experience. The six-foot-five Andrews is a bigger target than Conklin (six-foot-three), and Andrews put up better numbers this season:

2024 Andrews (17 games): 55 receptions, 673 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12.2 yards per catch, 69 targets
2024 Conklin (16 games): 51 receptions, 449 yards, 4 touchdowns, 8.8 yards per catch, 72 targets

So, should New York put together a deal for Andrews, saving Andrews from an awkward year in Baltimore while bolstering Gang Green’s 2025 offense at the same time?

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