John Harbaugh Officially Gives Up on Isaiah Likely After Ravens TE Ruled Out vs. Bills

The Baltimore Ravens knew Sunday night in Buffalo would be a test of their roster’s resilience. Losing tight end Isaiah Likely removed a reliable pass-catching safety valve, while the absence of fullback Patrick Ricard stripped the run game of its signature bulldozer. With two foundational pieces of the offense sidelined in the same week, adjustments were inevitable.

Head coach John Harbaugh isn’t banking on a quick return for Likely. Rather than sticking to the team’s traditional run-heavy blueprint, one that typically leans on Ricard’s physical presence, Baltimore opted for a more flexible approach. The Ravens elevated tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden from the practice squad, positioning him as the next man up to fill the void left by Likely and offer quarterback Lamar Jackson another sizable target in the passing game.

Harbaugh’s been doing that classic coach thing with Likely, saying that he’s “maybe ahead of schedule.” Which, if you’ve listened to Harbs long enough, basically means: he’s moving in the right direction, but don’t get your hopes up about him suiting up on Sunday.

What does Harbaugh do to counter his absence? He elevates a 6’5”, 257-pound tight end off the practice squad. The Ravens clearly trust him to eat some emergency snaps if needed. The team even pointed out in their release that he basically lived on practice squads last year and only had one preseason grab for 11 yards. Obviously a depth move, but it’s not a bad one.

With Mark Andrews locked in as TE1 (55 catches for 673 yards and 11 TDs in 2024), the Ravens just needed an emergency guy who can block, catch a little, and not blow up the two-TE sets. Andrews is still the go-to red zone weapon, but they want someone who actually knows the system in case things get thin.

Mitchell-Paden has been in the building. He’s practiced with the Ravens’ offense, learned the verbiage and can slide into special teams if needed — a small but crucial box to tick for Week 1 elevation. The alternative — elevating a practice-squad fullback — doesn’t buy the team as much flexibility in the passing game or rearrange personnel packages as cleanly.

And yeah, losing Patrick Ricard makes it trickier. His role last year wasn’t small. He was on the field for about 39% of the snaps. Huge piece of the Ravens’ early-down blocking and short-yardage stuff. It also makes FB Lucas Scott not being elevated a dubious decision. It’s clear that John Harbaugh is prioritising the run-heavy game.

As for Zaire, he’s a big in-line guy who can bend down the seam and block on occasion. Exactly the sort of guy Todd Monken and Harbaugh can slot into run-heavy sets or two-TE packages if they want to preserve some of the offense’s muscle without reinventing the wheel. But of course, losing Isiah Likely is a loss that is tough to respond to.

Isiah Likely is officially out vs Bills

Yes, losing Isiah for the Bills game is big. The man racked up 42 catches, 477 yards, and 6 touchdowns last season. That’s some serious production from a TE2, and you could see Lamar trust him as a safety valve on a bunch of those throws.

As for Lamar, he racked up 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns. The passing game was rolling. Losing Likely takes away a nice piece, but it’s not like the whole thing falls apart. Lamar still has Andrews (55/673/11) and the rest of the weapons to keep this offense moving.

That playoff rematch with Buffalo last year is a pretty good microcase: Likely lit them up for 4 grabs, 73 yards and a score in that divisional loss. So not having him this time stings a little, both for the revenge factor and the game plan. Without him, the red-zone and checkdown stuff shifts more onto Andrews’ shoulders.

Harbaugh and Monken aren’t short of patchworks. Whether it’s two-TE sets or using more two-TE and three-wide looks, there are options. But patchworks only work for so long. Harbaugh needs Isiah Likely to come back, and quick.