If we are going to point at one single moment when the season went off the rails for the Baltimore Ravens — especially on the defensive side of the ball — it would be when NFL All-Pro defensive tackle and 2-time Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike was put on injured reserve on September 27 with a neck injury.
The news on Madubuike broke just one day ahead of a massive AFC showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, and was followed by even more mystery as head coach John Harbaugh refused to say it wasn’t a career threatening injury.
As is fitting for someone of his generation, the 28-year-old Madubuike broke his silence for the first time on his Instagram stories with a post of him looking fresh to death — and a tad slimmer, possibly — along with 3 crystal ball emojis.
We can say so much with just an emoji, can’t we?
“Nnamdi Madubuike breaks his social media silence with … inscrutable emoji,” The Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer wrote on X on Satuday, December 6. “Ravens placed the All-Pro on season-ending IR in September because of a neck injury.”
Ravens Could Have Long-Term Issue With Injury
Losing Madubuike was a tremendous blow to Baltimore’s defense, to say the least, but losing him for more than just this season could mean retooling their entire defensive front. He’s just that good.
In September, Harbaugh declined to answer a question about whether Madubuike’s injury might cost him more than just the rest of this season or could even be career ending.
“I’m trying to explain it in the best way I can in terms of what I’m allowed to tell you,” Harbaugh told a group of reporters. “A lot of that are things he needs to address with you guys, on his time. Those are questions best addressed by him going forward.”
Madubuike reportedly hurt his neck in a Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The Ravens started the season 1-5 but are now 6-6 headed into a Week 14 AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Prayers up for Nnamdi Madubuike,” Ravens Realm wrote on its official X account. “One of the most disruptive and pivotal players on the Ravens defense and he’s out for the year. Madubuike is only 27 years old, and there’s speculation that his career may be over. Great athlete, even better person. Praying for health!”
What Ravens Lost With Madubuike Out
While NFL smart guys continue to tout New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones as the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL right now — with Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter not far behind — numbers tell us Madubuike has been just as good or better than any of them.
Madubuike, 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, is also one of the NFL’s highest paid players at his position after he signed a 4-year, $98 million contract extension in March 2024.
“Madubuike has made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons, has 21.5 sacks since the start of the 2023 season — the most by any defensive tackle in the league,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on September 24.
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