The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up for their first preseason game of the 2022 on Thursday, where they’ll take on the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium. The team has gone through over a week of training camp practices, and are looking to see which players deserve playing time as well as roster spots.
One star who’s role with the team is locked in is tight end Mark Andrews. During Saturday’s practice, the team went through an injury scare with the former Oklahoma star when according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic he appeared to get his foot stuck in the ground and lifted up a divot. However, the pass catcher got right up.
The Ravens had a very brief scare at practice when Mark Andrews appeared to get his foot/ankle stuck in the ground as he went down to catch a pass, lifting a huge divot. Andrews bounced back up, but Harbaugh had seen enough. That was last rep that Andrews took.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 6, 2022
After the play, Andrews didn’t take another snap on the day. Head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the sequence, and joked that he’d seen enough of the tight end.
“Yes, I had seen enough. I had seen enough of Mark [Andrews]. I told Mark … He’s like, ‘I’m fine.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve been practicing my slide.’ Well, it wasn’t one of your better slides. _(laughter)But he’s had so many reps this week. He’s had plenty of reps, and that was really my call just to back him off.”
Baltimore has clearly been taking the cautious approach with their players, which looks to be the right call after an injury-filled 2021 season. There is plenty of optimism surrounding the Ravens in 2022, and it’s much more ideal to have their players at 100% after healing for a few days or weeks from a minor injury as opposed to having them out for an extended period after making a minor ailment worse. Baltimore is committed to trying to find ways to reduce injuries, and holding out Andrews from practice after an injury scare is one of those ways.