Baltimore Ravens Tight End Room: 2025 and Beyond

The Baltimore Ravens enter 2025 with a curious tight end room. Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar are all on expiring contracts and are due to be free agents in March. There has been some buzz around Likely getting an extension, but some media members have shut down the idea. Likely is also nursing an injury at the moment, so a preseason extension seems unlikely.

Barring injury, Andrews will become the Ravens’ all-time leading pass catcher (by catches and yards) in the 2025 season. Last season, he blew past Todd Heap’s franchise record for receiving touchdowns and Jamal Lewis’ mark for total touchdowns. He is no longer the All-Pro-level player he was in 2021, but he remains a valuable piece in the offense. He has a sixth sense for getting open for Lamar Jackson, which is valuable as a security blanket.

Andrews could fetch deals similar to Dallas Goedert (one year at $10M) or Evan Engram (two years at $11.5M), given his age and production profile.

Likely has yet to have a true breakout season. He has just 1,261 yards and 14 touchdowns in 49 games, averaging shy of 26 yards per game. However, he has been a playoff riser – catching 11 passes for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the last two postseasons.

Likely’s lack of a breakout season likely reduces the amount of money in the potential contract. While he has the talent to be at the top of the tight end market, he would likely slot in somewhere in the middle of the top 10 in terms of contract value.

Jake Ferguson’s four-year, $50M deal could be a reasonable approximation for a potential Likely contract.

Kolar has proven to be the least out of the Ravens’ tight end room. Despite being drafted ahead of Likely, Kolar has been Baltimore’s third tight end since 2022. In three seasons, he has 20 catches for 267 yards and two touchdowns. He has one catch in the playoffs.

The 26-year-old did flash once last season, recording 64 yards and a touchdown in Week 5 against Cincinnati, but otherwise, he is unknown as a real weapon. In his Ravens career, he has played 50% of the offensive snaps just once, Week 18 of the 2023 season.

Of the current Ravens tight end room, Kolar is marginally the best blocker, and he would be by far the cheapest option. Noah Gray’s three-year, $18M contract or Tommy Tremble’s two-year, $10.5M deal could be reasonable approximations for a Kolar deal.

Fairly or unfairly, Andrews is often scapegoated for Baltimore’s playoff failures. In eight career playoff games, Andrews has 29 catches for 315 yards and zero touchdowns. PFF credits Andrews with seven career playoff drops – a number that does not include a dropped two-point conversion in the 2024 playoffs. He also lost a fumble in the playoffs last season.

One parallel can be made to former Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff. He was an All-Pro in 2010, but after a down 2011 season and a high-profile missed field goal to lose a playoff game, Cundiff lost his spot to Justin Tucker before the 2012 season.

Andrews did catch 11 touchdowns last season, but his yards per game have gone down four seasons in a row. He turns 30 in September as well, and he would likely command a top-10 contract among tight ends.

Likely could be the most expensive option to retain. He lacks the high-end production that Andrews has shown previously, but his high-end talent and youth could drive up his price in free agency. The Ravens have had this phenomenon take place in their edge room many times over the seasons, including Za’Darius Smith and Matt Judon.

Kolar’s lack of impact as even the second tight end in Baltimore limits the likelihood that he will return to the Ravens’ tight end room. While he does have NFL experience and two years in Todd Monken’s offense now, he is an unknown asset. From the Ravens’ perspective, it might be worthwhile drafting a mid-round tight end instead of extending Kolar.

Unlike the 2025 class with Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, the 2026 class seems to be on the shallower side. The class profiles much more like the 2022 class, which did not have a tight end taken in the first 50 picks. Notably, the Ravens drafted both Likely and Kolar in the fourth round of that 2022 class.

Names to watch include Ohio State tight end Max Klare and Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers. Klare had 685 yards and four touchdowns in 2024 at Purdue before transferring to Ohio State. Stowers is a two-time transfer (previously Texas A&M and New Mexico State) who had 638 yards and five touchdowns with the Commodores in 2024.

Given the lack of a top-round tight end option (for now), the Ravens will likely retain at least one of their 2025 tight end room. If they were only able to retain one of them, it might be best to re-sign Likely while letting Andrews and Kolar walk. In this case, the Ravens could spend a mid-round pick on a tight end (or two, similar to 2022). If they can retain multiple, a combination of Andrews and Kolar might be the most cost-effective, even if it lets the most talented of the bunch leave the building.

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