The Baltimore Ravens have already lost three defensive coaches this offseason; Pro Bowl players like DL Justin Madubuike could follow. The fourth-year veteran acknowledged the obvious reality of his pending free agency yesterday while enjoying his first Pro Bowl experience.
“In terms of Baltimore, man, that’s home. But, you know, business is business, and that side is going to take care of itself”, he told NFL.com. He reiterated that the 2023 group represented a special team while being realistic about the future. “Hopefully, we can keep as much guys as we can, but it’s a business, people gotta go where they gotta go”.
The Ravens are not afraid of growing their roster internally and reaping the benefits of compensatory draft picks. That they have no compensatory picks waiting for them during the 2024 NFL Draft is a rare occurrence.
Madubuike might be their most significant free agent this offseason coming off a breakout year. He recorded 13 sacks with 12 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. He made his first Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors.
But now in his age-27 season going into Year Five, he is due to be a free man. He will have the luxury of entertaining offers from every team in the league. With the franchise tag for a defensive lineman hovering around $20 million, the Ravens will have to be thrifty to deploy that method.
Baltimore will have to decide if Madubuike has successfully developed into a star or if he simply had a statistically strong outlier of a season. They have never been shy about growing from within, and they have some young linemen like Travis Jones. He and others, like Broderick Washington, could assume a larger role in Madubuike’s absence.
They could also utilize their usual tools, looking for street free agents who get released by other teams. They are still waiting on their next great edge rusher, having hoped it would be Odafe Oweh. Three years into his career as a former first-round draft pick, he isn’t.
Baltimore actually found success turning to some salty dogs in free agency. Both Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy chipped in nine or more sacks this past year. Outside of Madubuike, they were the only other players with more than five on the roster. But collectively, they finished with 60 sacks, more than the Pittsburgh Steelers have ever had.
Business is business, a statement equally true for the teams as it is for the players. Yes, teams are bound by the salary cap, but they are also not living beings making choices for the future of their families. And they are the ones with all the money to start with.
Will Madubuike become the latest in a long line of Ravens free agents for whom other teams insist on paying top dollar? It seems to happen with regularity, whether merited or not. But Baltimore won’t typically complain. The better free agent contracts their players sign, the better compensatory picks they get.
