Patriots Help Set Tight End Market for Mark Andrews

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens are determined to ink tight end Mark Andrews to a contract extension.

This year's free-agent signings are helping set Andrews' market, thanks to the Patriots.

Over the past several days, New England inked a four-year, $50 million deal with Jonnu Smith that includes $31.25 million fully guaranteed.

Then, the Patriots signed Hunter Henry to a three-year, $37.5 million deal, including $25 million guaranteed.

San Francisco's George Kittle is the highest-paid tight end at $15 million per season, followed Kansas City's Travis Kelce at $14.3 million annually.

Andrews could be looking for a similar deal.

Andrews took over the starting job at tight end as a rookie and has become one of the team's most valuable payers. Last season, Andrews had a team-high 58 receptions for 701 yards with seven touchdowns. Andrews, who is eligible for free agency in 2022, will earn a base salary of $920,000 this season.

"We are a tight end-centric offense, and Mark Andrews, in my opinion, is one of the better tight ends in the entire NFL," Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta said. "He’s a Pro Bowl tight end, in my opinion. So, we would be foolish to not want to try and keep him. Those discussions will start up at some point. Hopefully, we can make progress and get some deals done.”

Here's a breakdown of those tight ends' stats.

Mark Andrews

Games: 45

Stats: 156 receptions, 2,105 yards, 20 TDs.

George Kittle

Games: 53

Stats: 264 receptions, 3,579 yards, 14 TDs

Travis Kelce

Games: 111

Stats: 612 receptions, 7,881 yards, 48 TDs

Jonnu Smith

Games: 60

Stats: 113 receptions, 1,302 yards, 16 TDs

Hunter Henry

Games: 55

Stats: 196 receptions, 2,322 yards, 21 TDs.