Anyone who has spent time around Mark Andrews knows beneath the steely, stoic exterior lies a storm.

There are fiercely competitive players, and then there is Andrews, whose intensity rages just as much in a July practice without pads as during the game itself. Like great competitors throughout sports, Andrews seems to hate losing more than he loves winning — he stews after games in which he feels he did not play up to his sky-high standard. The angst Andrews quietly exudes after these disappointments might seem excessive, but it is probably the fuel that has made the former third-round pick one of the greatest Ravens ever.

The glimpse we’ve gotten of Andrews’ agony in Sunday’s playoff loss in Buffalo comes from “Hard Knocks,” when he slammed the team bench after a gutting drop that is destined to go down among the most deflating sequences in Ravens playoff history.

But that’s all we know, because Andrews hasn’t spoken publicly since the season ended — not in the visiting locker room and not in the final cleanout in Owings Mills the next day. The next time we hear from him might be organized team activities in April or May.

It’s not surprising that he would not be ready to talk publicly about a performance that (in spite of five catches for 63 yards) will be remembered for a fumble and the pass he dropped. But it is disappointing that Andrews didn’t offer any final thoughts after a great year with a bitter end.

After their epic letdowns in 2011, Billy Cundiff and Lee Evans faced the questions. Andrews is getting a bitter backlash from online trolls — which, frankly, is an increasing concern given the hostility of the sports gambling crowd — but it’s worth wondering, if Andrews had shown some of his humanity after the game, if that would have tamped down the most toxic online discourse.

With a long track record and a loyal following, Andrews should have trusted that the real fans of Baltimore would have his back. He should have believed he gave fans enough joy that they would stick with him through his struggle.

There’s a larger picture here, one that “Hard Knocks” cameras caught Lamar Jackson telling him about: “We’re a team. It’s all of us, bro. It ain’t just you.”

His teammates certainly had his back and, with his silence, Andrews asked them to carry water for him — always an uncomfortable position for players and coaches who are every bit as emotionally flattened as he is.

Leadership and accountability look like Jackson, who played far from his best as well. After the game, Jackson took the podium to detail all of his mistakes, then minimized the shortcomings of others, including Andrews, who has been his closest catching partner since they were both drafted in 2018.

“[It’s not] his fault — all of us played a factor in that game,” he said. “It’s a team effort. We’re not going to put that on Mark, because he’s been battling all season.”

Jackson, who is under immense pressure and national scrutiny, owned his mistakes and showed his human side. It was hard and, immediately afterward, Jackson slumped into the arms of Ravens PR official Patrick Gleason as he let out his emotion.

Still, it’s an example worth following.

For Andrews, the bigger picture includes what he represents off the field. Bills Mafia donations to their vanquished foes is a bittersweet tradition, to be sure, but as of Wednesday midday, Buffalo fans had gathered over $70,000 in a GoFundMe for Andrews’ charity that supports people (like himself) who have type 1 diabetes. Andrews has said he wants to be an example for kids with the disease to show them the success they can achieve. In the same light, he also sets an example of how to navigate life’s trials.

The biggest question of all about Andrews, however, is one of the most difficult to accept — the possibility that he might be facing the end of his Ravens tenure, and that silence might be his final word.

Coach John Harbaugh insisted that the Ravens would not have been in the playoffs without Andrews, which is undoubtedly true. But the difficulty in 2025 will be compounded by the Ravens’ salary cap that could force tough decisions this offseason. With the fourth-highest salary of 2025, Andrews has to be a candidate for his $16.9 million deal to be restructured — or the Ravens can save $11 million by cutting him after June 1.

As unlikely and ruthless as a parting of the ways might seem between the Ravens and their all-time touchdowns leader, it doesn’t seem off the table, especially given Isaiah Likely’s rise. Harbaugh said Wednesday he anticipated Andrews will be a part of Baltimore’s future. But DeCosta also acknowledged that all three of the Ravens’ tight ends — Andrews, Likely and Charlie Kolar — are entering contract years, and it seems evident that Baltimore will have to make hard decisions about the future of that group soon.

Andrews is too good a player and has meant too much to the Ravens to go out without so much as a word. He should have seen how much was riding on what he had to say about the play, his game and his bounce-back season instead of letting others tell his story for him.

Although he may often feel consumed by his internal competitive fire, he has to see how he fits in and recognize not only his responsibility as a leader but how getting ahead of his agonizing finish to the season could have helped him.

Whether it’s this week or months from now, Andrews will have to address what probably goes down as the toughest moment of his career. Time won’t diminish the scope of that challenge — if anything, holding it inside only makes it harder.