As the Steelers await health updates on Broderick Jones, the Ravens are hoping to have Nnamdi Madubuike play again. A former Pro Bowl defensive lineman, he suffered a career-threatening injury in 2025. Since then, the organization has been rather tight-lipped about his health. Yesterday, new HC Jesse Minter spoke about him, the most substantial update we’ve seen since his injury.
Asked if there was optimism about Madubuike’s future playing status, Minter said, “I’ll leave that up to him. I love him as a player, love him as a person. I’ve seen some of the videos [on social media] of him doing things. I know he just feels good being back – working out and doing things like that, but I’ll leave all that up to him”.
A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Nnamdi Madubuike really came into his own in 2023. That year, he made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro lists, posting a career-high 13 sacks. While still potent a year later, he finished with 6.5 sacks, in addition to 11 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Two games into the 2025 season, however, Madubuike went down with a neck injury. He was playing effectively, posting 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss in that short span of time. Without him, the Ravens really had no answers and their pass rush fell apart. From over 50 sacks a year earlier, they dropped collectively to 30. Needless to say, getting him back would be a big boost, but they understand it’s up in the air.
“You always try to have a plan in case something happens. I know that [Nnamdi Madubuike] is in a great place mentally. He’s doing a lot of stuff”, Minter said. “That’s still a kind of a ‘to be determined’ thing, I would say. And so, we certainly – as an organization – you certainly have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D and all the way down the line. And so, we’ll be excited whichever way that goes”.
He added that there is no “hard timeline” regarding Madubuike’s future. From an outside perspective, we don’t even know what the variables are. Obviously, he needs to be healthy enough to play. But he also has to want and be willing to play and assume the risks that come with it.
Madubuike counts $29,872,059 against the Ravens’ salary cap this year, including a $22 million base salary. The figure also includes nearly $9 million in prorated bonus money. Their picking up his $15 million option bonus last year also triggered a guarantee of his 2026 salary.
The Ravens’ contract with Madubuike runs through the 2027 season. Including money from two void years, they still owe him over $40 million, of which more than half is already paid in cash but must be accounted for in cap. He has a base salary of $18.5 million next season, which is not guaranteed. But they would love to have a reason to pay him that money, because it would mean getting a star player back.
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