Don't count out Mark Andrews for the rest of the 2023 season just yet.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said the ankle injury is not as bad as initially feared and that there's a chance Andrews could return this season.
"There might be an outside chance that he could get back at some point in time," Harbaugh said. "We'll just have to see how that goes. I don't want to say that's definitive by any stretch but there is some optimism."
Harbaugh said Andrews will be visiting Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. the next few days and that "nothing is completely definitive yet." A day later, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that Andrews is undergoing surgery on Tuesday.
"It wasn't as bad as it could have been. It's a little cleaner than they initially thought, based on the MRI," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh expressed his "full confidence" in second-year tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar to step up with Andrews out, along with the team's receiving corps and others. But there's no doubt that getting Andrews back, even for a Super Bowl push, would be a huge boost.
Harbaugh said he didn't want to speculate now on what the timeline could be for a potential return, and he didn't want to speak for Andrews on his thoughts about returning.
"I can tell you this. There is no bigger competitor, nobody wants to be out there more than Mark Andrews," Harbaugh said. "This guy, he's all about it. He's all about everything, but he's all about gameday."
