![\"Isaiah](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2248807741-e1771616821466.jpg\")
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The Baltimore Ravens have been warned about a shock Isaiah Likely and Mike Macdonald comparison.<\/p>\n
They let Mike Macdonald walk and soon regretted it when their former defensive coordinator became a Super Bowl-winning head coach in no time at all, but the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> have been warned about a shock comparison between Madonald\u2019s career arc and dynamic young tight end Isaiah Likely<\/a>, who is set to enter 2026 NFL<\/a> free agency.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a warning posted on prominent social media fan page, Ravens Nation LIVE<\/a>. The note of caution states that \u201cIf the Ravens let Isaiah Likely go, it will be the biggest mistake since allowing Mike Macdonald to walk.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Ravens let Isaiah Likely go, it will be the biggest mistake since allowing Mike Macdonald to walk. <\/p>\n This is a tough sell, even though Likely is a talented pass-catcher with plenty of upside as a playmaker. Unfortunately for the Ravens, much of that potential remains untapped<\/a>, so it\u2019s difficult to argue they would miss Likely as much as they\u2019ve missed Macdonald<\/a> since he took the top job with the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n The latter designed and called the NFL\u2019s stingiest defense in Baltimore a year earlier, but the unit has regressed considerably since. A major reason why ownership changed the leadership structure by ditching 18-year head coach John Harbaugh in favor of former Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> DC Jesse Minter.<\/p>\n Isaiah Likely Regression Hard to Ignore<\/p>\n Likely has always promised more than he\u2019s delivered. The promise stems from his mix of athleticism and versatility as a roving tight end with wide receiver-type skills.<\/p>\n Translating those skills into impressive numbers has been a problem. Likely has never snagged more than 42 catches, nor reached 500 receiving yards in a single season.<\/p>\n Durability was an issue last season, when a fractured foot<\/a> cost Likely the opening four games of the campaign. Yet even when he was fully healthy, No. 80 couldn\u2019t emerge as the go-to target for franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n Likely struggled to inspire confidence because of too many critical miscues<\/a>. Focus and consistency have kept Likely just another guy on a crowded depth chart also featuring fellow 2022 NFL draft fourth-round pick Charlie Kolar<\/a> and veteran All-Pro Mark Andrews<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Ravens wouldn\u2019t regret letting Likely test the market, unless he tripled his average production in a new home. Likely\u2019s inability to become the stats monster the Ravens envisioned was an indictment of Harbaugh and his coaching staff.<\/p>\n Although the bigger blot on their copybook was found on the other side of the ball.<\/p>\n Mike Macdonald Decision Changed Ravens<\/p>\n When the Ravens opted against having Macdonald succeed Harbaugh, they set the stage for all of the major changes that have taken place so far this year. Many will argue change was inevitable and only delayed by letting Macdonald seek pastures new.<\/p>\n Harbaugh was still convinced by his own way of doing things and repeatedly kept faith in<\/a> Macdonald\u2019s replacement Zach Orr. The latter has actually landed with Macdonald in Seattle<\/a>, but Orr couldn\u2019t maintain the high standards the Ravens set when they allowed the fewest points in the league and topped the sack charts in 2023.<\/p>\n Orr\u2019s unit ranked 18th in points<\/a> last season and logged a mere 30 sacks<\/a>. Minter and new DC Anthony Weaver are now entrusted to restore the Ravens\u2019 tradition of strong defense, while Monken\u2019s replacement Declan Doyle will be tasked with producing more big plays<\/a> on offense.<\/p>\n Likely could deliver those big plays, but if the Ravens decide they don\u2019t want to wait any longer for him to reach his ceiling, they probably won\u2019t count letting him walk as the same level of a mistake as granting Macdonald his exit.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJames Dudko<\/a> covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Ravens\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Baltimore Ravens have been warned about a shock Isaiah Likely and Mike Macdonald comparison. They let…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-765633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116105731078249847","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}