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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews returned to the practice field 16 days after an “extremely scary” car accident and declared himself ready to play in the Sept. 5 season opener against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
“I feel really good,” Andrews said after Friday’s practice. “I’m excited. I’m excited for this game. It’s a big game.”
The accident involving Andrews occurred on Aug. 14 while he was driving to the Ravens’ team facility for training camp. According to Baltimore County police, two vehicles sustained heavy damage in the accident.
Andrews said he surprised those in the Ravens’ facility when he attended a team meeting about an hour after the accident.
“It was definitely a serious thing, and for me, it puts things in perspective of tell the people that you’re around that you love them and wear your seatbelt,” Andrews said. “You never know what’s going to happen on the road. You never know what things might be thrown at you, what things might come at you. I’m very blessed and fortunate.”
Andrews didn’t go into details about the accident, saying, “There’s still stuff going on with insurance.”
A week ago, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Andrews was dealing with a “very minor thing” that kept him out of practice after the accident. On Friday, Andrews acknowledged that his missed practice time was not the result of any injury suffered in the accident.
“I feel good,” Andrews said. “I’m ready to move forward from everything that happened. And yeah, my body feels great.”
Andrews, 28, is one of three Ravens players who have been involved in car accidents this summer. The others were outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy and inside linebacker Josh Ross.
A three-time Pro Bowl player, Andrews ranks in the top three in franchise history in receptions (381), receiving yards (4,857) and touchdown catches (40). He needs two touchdown receptions to surpass Todd Heap for the most in Ravens history.
“I’ve always had that mindset of being resilient moving forward and you can’t take things for granted,” Andrews said. “And I think for me, that [car accident] definitely showed me that.”