Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews will be opponents on the field when their respective clubs square off on “Monday Night Football” in Week 8.
Off the field, however, Mayfield and Andrews are anything but enemies. No, Mayfield and Andrews are former college teammates at the University of Oklahoma who became close enough that Andrews was a groomsman at Mayfield’s 2019 wedding.
As Mayfield and Andrews prepare to play on MNF, let’s explore their dual jorney from college teammates to NFL stars.
Revisiting Baker Mayfield and Mark Andrews’ College Careers at Oklahoma
Mayfield began his college career at Texas Tech before transferring to Oklahoma in 2014. However, he wasn’t eligible to play for the Sooners until 2015.
Meanwhile, Andrews started at Norman, Okla., in 2014 but redshirted during his freshman season. Like Mayfield, Andrews didn’t see the field for Oklahoma until the 2015 campaign.
Mayfield was a star from the moment he set foot on the Sooners’ campus. He piled up passing yards, touchdowns, and awards from Day 1, including a first-team All-American selection in 2015.
But Mayfield’s best collegiate campaign came in 2017 when he won the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Mayfield received the third-highest percentage of voting points in Heisman history.
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Baker Mayfield and Mark Andrews connect for a 59 yard touchdown in Oklahoma’s 29-24 win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl in 2017. pic.twitter.com/F821JXSRMU— Days until Oklahoma Football (@ouftblcountdown) August 28, 2022
Mayfield’s outstanding 2017 season featured plenty of Andrews, who’d progressed from role player to offensive weapon over three seasons. In 2017, Andrews led the Sooners in receptions (62) and receiving TDs (eight) while finishing second to Hollywood Brown in receiving yards (958).
Like Mayfield, Andrews was named a unanimous All-American after the 2017 season. He also won the John Mackey Award, annually awarded to college football’s best tight end.
All told, Mayfield and Andrews won three consecutive Big 12 titles and made two appearances in the College Football Playoff during their run at Oklahoma.
Mayfield had exhausted his college eligibility heading into the 2018 NFL Draft. Andrews still has a season remaining but chose to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.
Mayfield and Andrews Take Different NFL Paths
Mayfield and Andrews’ NFL careers have mirrored their college paths. While Mayfield has taken a winding road to success, Andrews has been in one place for the entirety of his pro stint.
As a highly-touted college prospect, Mayfield went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. After an up-and-down start to begin his NFL career, Mayfield posted his best season as a Brown in 2020, finishing 10th in QBR while guiding Cleveland to an 11-5 regular-season record and its first playoff win since 1994.
However, things took a turn the following season. Mayfield struggled while playing through a torn labrum, finally undergoing surgery once the Browns were eliminated from the postseason.
Cleveland acquired QB Deshaun Watson during the 2022 offseason, then traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers that July. Mayfield started five games for Carolina before suffering a high-ankle sprain and losing his QB1 job to P.J. Walker.
Mayfield requested and was granted his release in December. With Mayfield’s career at its nadir, the Los Angeles Rams claimed him off waivers. He thrived under Sean McVay, leading the Rams to a memorable comeback win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14 and a 51-14 blowout over the Denver Broncos in Week 16.
That performance landed Mayfield a one-year, $4 million contract to compete to replace Tom Brady in Tampa, Fla. After winning the job, Mayfield threw for a career-high 28 touchdowns, earned his first Pro Bowl nod, and took the Bucs to the NFC Divisional Round.
Mayfield’s success has carried into 2024. He’s continued to find connections with WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Heading into MNF, Mayfield ranks fourth in passing success rate (51.6%), sixth in explosive pass rate (15%), and ninth in EPA per dropback (0.10).
While Mayfield was the first choice of the 2018 NFL Draft, Andrews had to wait until Round 3 to be selected. He wasn’t even the first tight end the Ravens took in 2018. Baltimore used one of its first-round picks on fellow TE Hayden Hurst (and the other on two-time MVP Lamar Jackson).
Andrews immediately outplayed Hurst to become a focal point of Baltimore’s offense. He posted 552 receiving yards in his debut campaign, an impressive feat for any rookie TE, let alone a mid-round pick.
Andrews put himself further on the map in 2019, hauling in 64 catches for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns while earning his first Pro Bowl nod. His sophomore season kicked off an utterly dominant run through 2022 when Andrews was squarely the NFL’s second-best receiving tight end behind Travis Kelce.
Andrews’ career-best season came in 2021 when he finished in the top 10 among all pass catchers (not just tight ends) in receptions, yards, and receiving TDs after managing a 107-1,361-9 line.
Unfortunately, the now-29-year-old Andrews suffered a cracked fibula and an ankle ligament injury in Week 11 of the 2023 season, which sidelined him until the AFC Championship Game. He got off to a slow start in 2024 but has posted at least 55 receiving yards in each of Baltimore’s last two games.
Mayfield and Andrews Remain Close Friends
Monday night’s Ravens vs. Buccaneers matchup has significant implications for both clubs.
Baltimore (4-2) is trying to keep pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who moved to 5-2 by defeating the New York Jets on Sunday night. Tampa Bay (4-2) needs a win to stay a game up on the NFC South-rival Atlanta Falcons.
Despite the enormity of tonight’s game, Mayfield couldn’t help but have a little fun at Andrews’ expense last week.
“Even though Mark and I are best friends, him and I don’t talk in-season,” Mayfield said on Friday.
“He’s a weirdo. He can’t exactly, you know, separate friendship and football. So he struggles with that on a year-to-year basis, so there’s a few months at a time when we’re friends again, but for right now, no.”
.@Mandrews_81 isn't having it, Baker😂😂 pic.twitter.com/r150SxrqUw
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 18, 2024
Mayfield jokingly said Andrews’ in-season stance offended him.
“It hurts my feelings,” Mayfield said. “Guy was in my wedding, won’t talk to me. It hurts my feelings, just gonna be honest.”
Andrews responded in kind on Friday.
“He’s one of my best friends. We’ve been close for such a long time. No quote from me, but it’s awesome to see Bake being Bake,” Andrews said with a grin.
“He kind of laid it out there. But, you know, he wasn’t 100% factual. I think I was the last one to hit him up. We exchanged some words a couple weeks back, but I was the one that initiated it.”