Tight end Isaiah Likely's hopes for a breakout 2025 season with the Ravens were hindered by a preseason foot injury, but he hasn't lost sight of that goal as he gets closer to becoming a free agent for the first time in the NFL.
Likely told Jon Gruden on Gruden Goes Long that he didn't feel like himself until around Thanksgiving because of the foot issue that caused him to miss the first three games of the season. He finished the year with 27 catches and he said that his message for his agent was that he wants to sign his next contract with a team that allows him to move to the next level.
“With my agent, what I told him was I just want to be able to blossom," Likely said. "The last couple years, I've had a great vet in Mark Andrews, where he taught me everything to be a star-caliber tight end to the point where it's like now I just want to be on a team where I can get out there and help a quarterback, help a team be able to put as much points on the board as possible. So just giving that information to my agent and letting him go to the teams and be an agent.”
Likely isn't ruling out a return to Baltimore and said he considers it home before adding that "business is business" when it comes to a team that recently signed Andrews and wide receiver Rashod Bateman to new deals. They also have wide receiver Zay Flowers due for his first extension and quarterback Lamar Jackson set for another one, so there may be too many mouths to feed for the Ravens to clear out enough space for Likely.