Mark Andrews was able to walk off the field on his own, but after the game it was announced he’d sustained a season-ending ankle injury. This is a big blow to fantasy managers, as Andrews was the TE3 through the first 10 weeks of the season. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) (Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
Mark Andrews’s injury impact was summed up immediately after the star tight end was tackled inside the five-yard line with 11 minutes left in the first quarter of Thursday Night Football.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson came over to his teammate and then slammed his helmet to the ground. The two of them have been “peanut butter and jelly,” as Jackson said, and the quarterback may have had a premonition about the long-term prognosis.
It’s a high-ankle injury, which head coach John Harbaugh confirmed was beyond a sprain and would be season-ending. For the Ravens, it’s devastating to their Super Bowl hopes.
For fantasy managers, we’re talking about the TE3 at the position with the most scarcity of star players.
Fantasy advice coming off Mark Andrews’ season-ending injury
If you’re one of those fantasy managers who got hit with that tough loss, the trade deadline in most Yahoo leagues is tomorrow, Nov. 18. No matter what, it’s going to be next to impossible to replicate Andrews’ production via trade without taking a huge chunk from another position on your roster.
On the waiver wire, here are tight ends rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues: Pat Freiermuth, Luke Musgrave, Tyler Higbee and Chigoziem Okonkwo.
For the remainder of the Baltimore offense, last night’s game gave us a good indication of how the target distribution would be, and the focus was clearly on the Ravens’ wide receivers: Zay Flowers, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman.
Of Jackson’s 26 passes during the game, 13 targeted that wide receiver trio. Beckham led the way with seven looks, finishing with 4-116-0 and his first 100-yard game since the NFC Championship game in January 2022. Flowers caught three of four targets for 43, and had a 68-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown called back on a questionable holding penalty.
Beckham may look like the big recipient of targets, but he only ran 17 routes. Flowers led the team with 32 routes, and came out of the slot on 12 of them. Those are the types of routes that Andrews ran, and are a good indicator for increased volume. Bateman ran 25 routes, but was targeted just twice and caught one ball for 10 yards. Even though he ran more routes than Beckham, the fact that OBJ clearly outproduced Bateman shows the pecking order.
Isaiah Likely is the next man up on the tight end depth chart for the Ravens, and he ran 29 routes last night. He saw two targets and zero catches. In Week 1, when Andrews missed the game, Likely caught one ball for four yards, so he might have a tall hill to climb if fantasy managers expect him to get Andrews’ targets.
Jackson did take five shots of 20-plus yards, connecting on one for 51 yards. He did more of his work on passes within the first 10 yards, and 12 of his passes were in that depth. He connected on 11 for 145 yards and a score. This is where Flowers could become a greater factor, as all three of his receptions for 43 yards were at that depth. Keep him in lineups.
OBJ is a wild card, because he has battled injuries all year, and picked up a shoulder injury at the end of the game. Monitor his status and the matchups. Bateman can be a stash, as our own Matt Harmon has been high on his talent for a long time. He’s finally healthy, and may see his targets rise in the aftermath of this injury.
Mark Andrews’ Recovery timeline & Dynasty outlook
Dr. Edwin Porrasthe medical expert for Fantasy Points who just completed his tenure with the Minnesota Twins’ medical staff, offered up this assessment of Andrews’ injury for dynasty managers who may want to know the long-term ramifications of this injury:
“Mark Andrews is unfortunately dealing with a high-ankle sprain and fracture, according to Jim Harbaugh,” Porras said. “This is (probably) the same injury OBJ sustained in 2017 and Michael Thomas sustained in 2020 (the original injury not all of his complications). In rare circumstances, this can be a two-month injury. However, based on comments from the team for proper healing we should expect at least 3-4 months for a full recovery. Barring complications, Andrews should have no problems returning by Week 1 in 2024.”
2023-11-17 17:08:07
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