The Baltimore Ravens will have a new offense in 2026 under offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, and that’s great. It should be fun to watch after a miserable offensive outing in 2025.
What the Ravens don’t have is a new tight end. They still have aging veteran Mark Andrews leading the way, just with a lot less support behind him, including the departure of the NFL’s best backup plan at the position in Isaiah Likely, who cashed in with a 3-year, $40 million free-agent contract with the New York Giants.
The bleeding didn’t stop there. Baltimore saw yet another talented, young tight end walk out the door when Charlie Kolar signed a 3-year, $24.3 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
That talent vacuum could impact the Ravens in a big way if they don’t find a way to mitigate some of that loss, which Ebony Bird’s Richard Louis thinks could happen by trading for Las Vegas Raiders backup tight end Michael Mayer.
“The Baltimore Ravens saw Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar leave town in free agency to join the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively,” Louis wrote. “While they still have Mark Andrews in the fold, they could still use another playmaker in that room. And that’s why Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer is someone the Ravens should inquire about. Once the Raiders selected tight end Brock Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, Mayer quickly became an afterthought, but he could provide Baltimore with a solid receiving threat.”
It could be a situation where taking a flyer on Mayer could pay off in a big way — the Ravens wouldn’t likely be asked to give up more than a 6th round pick in return.
Mayer Compared to Legendary NFL Tight End
The Raiders seemed like they drafted their tight end of the future in 2023 when they used a 2nd round pick (No. 35 overall) on Mayer after he was a 2-time All-American in 3 seasons at Notre Dame.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein projected Mayer as a 1st round pick in his pre-draft evaluation and compared him to legendary Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.
“Big combination tight end with the demeanor for run blocking and the size for tough, chain-moving catches underneath,” Zierlein wrote. “Mayer will come into the league with better blocking technique than most tight ends in this year’s draft. He’s built for in-line duty and was an extension of the Notre Dame offensive line at times. His feet are a little heavy getting into and through his routes, but he has the hand strength and contact balance to win heavily contested catches on the first two levels. Mayer might need to polish his route running to become a high-volume target, but he’s a safe pick and will be a good pro who can become a plus player as a run blocker and pass catcher.”
Mayer, 6-foot-4 and 256 pounds, signed a 4-year, $9.35 million rookie contract and had a solid rookie year with 27 receptions for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns in 14 games.
Unfortunately for Mayer, the Raiders used their 2024 1st round pick on Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, who set NFL rookie records for receptions (112) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,194) in 2024 on the way to earning NFL All-Pro honors and is a 2-time Pro Bowler in his 1st 2 seasons.
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