Ravens tight end Mark Andrews fractured his fibula and suffered ligament damage in his left ankle during a Nov. 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Less than nine weeks later, Andrews was a full participant in Baltimore's practice on Wednesday, keeping alive the possibility of the three-time Pro Bowl selection playing in Saturday's playoff game against the Houston Texans.
“I think that's how I feel at the end of the day,” Andrews said in his first comments since suffering the injury in Week 11. “Just knowing how good this team is, how good our players are, how good our tight ends are. If I feel like I'm going to be useful to the team, I'll go. If I felt like I was close but not there, so I'm going to let these guys go and hopefully I get that next weekend.
When Andrews was first injured, Ravens coach John Harbaugh kept the door open for him to return this season, but said it would take Baltimore to make a deep playoff run. Andrews, who underwent surgery on November 21, returned to training on a limited basis last Friday. He was restricted again on Tuesday before being promoted to full participant on Wednesday.
Andrews said he did everything possible, including spending time in a hyperbaric chamber he borrowed from his girlfriend's family home, to speed up the recovery process.
“Those guys had a plan together for me,” Andrews said. “All I had to do was come here every day and work and get better. It's gotten a lot better week after week. We've made a lot of progress.”
Andrews, 28, has been one of the most productive tight ends in the NFL when healthy. He had 45 catches for 544 yards and six touchdowns before the injury. Two seasons ago, he was a first-team All-Pro selection after catching 107 passes for 1,361 yards.
Second-year tight end Isaiah Likely has thrived in Andrews' absence, catching 21 balls for 322 yards and five touchdowns in six games. The Ravens went 5-1 in Andrews' absence.
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