ExtremeRavens Posted Tuesday at 10:05 PM Posted Tuesday at 10:05 PM Lamar Jackson was rifling through a list of all the talent he’ll have at his disposal this season. There’s Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, DeAndre Hopkins, Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews. He paused on the last name. “I got to get on Mandrews real quick,” Jackson said. The Ravens quarterback took an unprompted 30-second aside Tuesday to come to the defense of the tight end who has been his safety blanket for much of his career — and who was on the wrong side of wretched social media backlash for two crucial gaffes in their AFC divisional round loss to Buffalo. “I been seeing my guy get talked about and I really don’t like that,” Jackson said in his first session with the media since that 27-25 defeat in Orchard Park, New York. “Because he’s done so much for us — I’m off topic right here — but he’s done so much for us and how people did him, I just don’t like that. “Mark’s still Mark. He’s still Mandrews.” Andrews was not made available to reporters after that gutting January playoff loss, in which he lost a fumble that led to the Bills’ go-ahead field goal and then dropped a game-tying 2-point conversion attempt in the final minutes. He did not show up to locker room clean out the following day to address the drop or his fumble in the second half, but did take to Instagram to spell out how devastated he was. Four months later, at Baltimore’s first week of voluntary open practices in late May, Andrews spoke confidently about how it fueled his offseason. “As a professional, it’s all about being able to move past it but storing that in the memory bank and understanding that this is not the end,” Andrews said. “This is something I’m going to work with, and get better and improve and move on.” Andrews, who turns 30 in September, had come off a season in which he became the Ravens’ all-time touchdowns leader. When trade talks swirled, the rumor mill pointed to Andrews as a prime target on the thinking that Baltimore would prefer to extend Likely, the ascendant 25-year-old entering the final year of his rookie contract. “I think I’ve been able to do it at the highest level, the best of the best for a long time,” Andrews said last month when asked about trade speculation. “And I’m not slowing down.” He caught 55 passes for 673 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns last season after not scoring for the first five weeks of the season. He continued to be a reliable safety valve in one of the most efficient offenses in league history, as measured by DVOA. His Buffalo blunder was a shocking way for the season to end. It cornered Andrews’ name into the darkest parts of sports fandom on social media. Jackson took exception to that. “He’s accomplished so much for us and himself,” Jackson said of his 2018 draft mate. “I feel like, just let things happen sometimes.” That Buffalo loss stung. It was clear in Jackson’s voice — contextualized by quarterbacks coach Tee Martin saying Tuesday that Jackson was hard on himself going back and watching the tape. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player added a little extra oomph on this next part. He was speaking as much for himself as he was defending his tight end. “We wish we woulda won that game,” Jackson said. “I wish I didn’t throw that interception. I wish I didn’t fumble. I wish that mishap didn’t happen. But it happened. It’s just a lesson learned. Next time, we’ll do something better.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson speaks to the media after Tuesday's practice in Owings Mills. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) View the full article Quote
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