The Carolina Panthers’ tight end group has promise. However, there is always room for improvement.
Ja’Tavion Sanders looked like a future starter before an injury cut his first season short in 2024. Rookie Mitchell Evans has looked good as a blocker and shown flashes as a route runner. Tommy Tremble continues to be steady and dependable, doing the little things that keep drives alive.
It’s a functional group, but not one that significantly impacts coverage or alters game plans. That’s why, even with young pieces developing, Carolina should at least explore the idea of adding a proven veteran.
Enter Mark Andrews.
Carolina Panthers should consider high-risk trade for Mark Andrews as Ravens flounder
The Baltimore Ravens’ three-time Pro Bowler isn’t the unstoppable force he was a few years ago. His 2025 numbers are down, and age has chipped away at some of the explosiveness that once made Andrews unguardable.
But what Andrews lacks in flash, he makes up for in football IQ, physicality, and dependability. These are all traits that could make him the perfect short-term fit for Bryce Young, as well as the tight ends behind him.
Andrews’ 63.4 grade from Pro Football Focus and 150 receiving yards through six games paint an unflattering picture, but they don’t tell the whole story. He’s still creating separation against linebackers, still one of the NFL’s most efficient targets on third down, and still among the league leaders in contested catch rate at his position.
He’d also serve as a living blueprint for Sanders and Evans, two players still learning the nuances of spacing, leverage, and route tempo. Andrews’s ability to diagnose coverages before the snap and adjust on the fly is exactly the kind of real-time education an inexperienced tight end room can’t get from film study alone.
Dave Canales’ offense is built around rhythm passing and controlled aggression, a style that thrives when quarterbacks have reliable, in-structure options. That’s what Andrews would give Young in this scenario.
This wouldn’t be a blockbuster move by any means, but it’s exactly the move the Panthers need — a talented veteran player for a minimal cost.
If the Ravens continue to spiral and Andrews hits the trade block, Carolina should make the call. Even in decline, he offers what no one else on the roster can: proven reliability, leadership, and the ability to make a quarterback’s life easier.
He wouldn’t be the star he once was, and that’s fine. What the Panthers need right now isn’t a superstar. It’s a mentor, a tone-setter, and a trustworthy safety valve.
Andrews still checks all three boxes.