Ravens Predicted to Trade Mark Andrews to AFC West Foe

The NFL Draft is an exciting time not just for the picks themselves, but also for all the trades over the course of the weekend.

This year, the Baltimore Ravens could make one of those big trades, and it could be a difficult one.

Following his infamous drop in the Divisional Round loss to the Buffalo Bills, Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has been the focus of countless trade rumors this offseason. It's not just because of the drop, though. The fact that he'll be 30 in September and the fact that the Ravens could save $11 million by moving on from him have fueled the rumors as well.

If Baltimore is to trade Andrews this offseason, the draft, while obviously not a hard deadline, would be the most logical time to do it.

When looking at potential trades for each team during the draft, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox suggested the Ravens trade Andrews to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for a fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) and a sixth-round pick (No. 181).

"Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was Baltimore's tight ends coach when Andrews was drafted in 2018, and he spent four other seasons coaching the tight end as the Ravens' offensive coordinator," Knox wrote. "Roman would know how to get the most out of Andrews, who would immediately become one of Justin Herbert's most reliable targets."

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, younger brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, loves heavily uses tight ends in his offense. Roman, while much-maligned among Ravens fans, was at the helm for Andrews' best season in 2021 (107 receptions, 1,361 yards, seven touchdowns), so a reunion may make sense for him.

In an ideal world, the Ravens would like to keep Andrews around. Even if he had a bad showing in the Divisional Round loss, he has been a key piece of the offense for years and had a career-high 11 touchdowns last season.

Unfortunately, this isn't an ideal world, as general manager Eric DeCosta's non-committal answer on Andrews shows.

"I never know what's going to happen, and I would never want to say this or that, but I can tell you this," DeCosta told reporters on April 15. "Mark Andrews is a warrior, and he's played his butt off for us, and his competitiveness, his talent, his attitude [and] his leadership is so valued here. He's a great player, and we're in the business of keeping as many great players as we can, so there's always a lot of unpredictability with the Draft. You just never know."

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