Ravens' Mark Andrews learned to deal with adversity at age 9 following Type 1 diabetes diagnosis

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a kid prepared Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews for adversity in the NFL.

Andrews has made three Pro Bowls, been an All-Pro and has played on six playoff teams in his first eight seasons. He dropped a pass on a 2-point conversion that would’ve tied the game in his last playoff game, a 27-25 loss to Buffalo in the AFC divisional round on Jan. 19, 2025.

“I’ve been ready for this like my whole life,” Andrews said on the AP’s “Football Unfiltered” podcast. “Being diagnosed Type 1 diabetes at the age of 9, I’ve been able to kind of mature at an early age and do things that other kids didn’t have to do or think about and live my life in a certain way that is constant 24-7 kind of surveillance and so I’m always looking kind of inward and I’ve always been able to do that and I don’t look outward to whatever maybe like media or outside sources to get gratification.

“For me, just being able to stay focused and believe in the people around me, believe in the work that I put in, all kind of goes back to being really diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age and trying to prove people wrong and that I can do anything I want in life. And no matter what life kind of hands you, you should keep on going, you keep on working hard and good things will happen.”

Andrews suffered a near-fatal severe hypoglycemic episode while taking a nap in his dorm room during his freshman year at Oklahoma in September 2014. After that incident, he began wearing a Dexcom device that tracks his glucose levels.

“I wear a Dexcom G7 and it’s incredible for me as an athlete just being able to have real-time blood glucose results and getting those blood sugar numbers in real time really helps you manage your diabetes,” he said.

Andrews and the Ravens (4-5) are going through a rough stretch right now. The team has lost four straight games and three-time All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson is on injured reserve because of a thumb injury.

Baltimore was down to third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano after backup Tyler Huntley suffered a season-ending toe injury so veteran Jacoby Brissett was acquired from Arizona. Brissett will start Monday night against the winless Los Angeles Chargers (0-8).

It’s been a tough first half for first-year coach Jesse Minter, who replaced John Harbaugh and took over a team that entered the season among the Super Bowl favorites.

“He’s been great,” Andrews said of Minter. “Just his messaging to the team, his confidence, all these types of things, he’s just so steady and it’s not easy. The kind of hand that we’ve been dealt these last few weeks, one thing after another. I think that if we just stay true to ourselves, we still have so many great players and guys that still want it so bad. So we’ve got to get this thing turned around and there’s no better person at the helm than him.”

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Watch “Football Unfiltered with Rob Maaddi” here or listen here.