The Baltimore Ravens defense was considered one of the best in the NFL during the 2023 season and unfortunately for them it coincides with key defenders hitting free agency. One of the breakout stars is DT Justin Madubuike, who had a career year in his contract year.
Madubuike will be one of the most recruited free agents in the market. Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote a mock free agency draft based on cap space and team need and projected the Houston Texans to swoop in and poach the breakout DT.
Ballentine wrote, “Signing Justin Madubuike in this draft would give [DeMeco] Ryans his Armstead in Houston. The 6’3″, 305-pound defender isn’t an exact replica of Armstead, but he has a similar ability to get pressure on the inside.”
“The Texans’ 2023 draft class has transformed them from an also-ran that was changing head coaches every year to a really scary rising team with DeMeco Ryans at the helm,” Ballentine explained.
Ballentine has the predicted contract for the DT at “4-years, $81 million”. Madubuike is only 26 years old and just reached his prime, so signing him to an $81 million contract would be a no-brainer.
The DT was named to the All-Pro Second Team and Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Madubuike set career highs with 13.0 sacks, 56 combined tackles and 33 quarterback hits.
Justin Madubuike Would Transform Texans’ Defense
Madubuike is a gamechanger at his position and showed how disruptive of a force he can be on the defensive front this season.
Ballentine wrote, “The Texans have a young, talented core.” They made the playoffs this season with C.J. Stroud at the helm, but their defense took giant strides under Ryan as well.
Pro Football Reference has the Texans’ defense ranked 11th in points allowed and 14th in yards allowed. Adding a star like Madubuike could turn them into a Top-10 defense.
“Combining his talents with Will Anderson Jr. and re-signing Jonathan Greenard, who had 12.5 sacks this season, would give the Texans a fierce pass rush,” Ballentine wrote.
The Texans will look to improve on their divisional loss this season, which just happened to be against the Ravens. They dominated the Cleveland Browns in the wildcard round, but their defense was exposed in the second half against the Ravens.
Ballentine wrote, “The Texans attempt to make the transition from upstart feel-good story to legitimate playoff contenders against the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.”
All three of those teams have high-powered offenses and if you want to take the next step to be an AFC contender you have to be able to at least slow them down.
“Stealing Madubuike away from the latter would certainly give Houston a huge boost in the right direction,” Ballentine believes.
Ravens May Not Let Justin Madubuike to Reach Free Agency
The Ravens are not going to let Madubuike go without a fight. They drafted the DT during the third round of the 2020 draft and have invested a lot of time in his development.
His 2023 season’s 13.0 sacks are 4.5 more sacks than he had in his first three years total. Every season Madubuike has improved his playing time, stats and overall ability.
It would not make sense for the Ravens to just let him walk away once he reached his peak ability. Baltimore tried signing him prior to the season, but Madubuike bet on himself, and it has paid off for him.
Spotrac’s market value prediction puts the DT at 4-years, $81 million but it appears Ravens will franchise tag Madubuike if they cannot come to an agreement. If they choose to go that route it would come out to $22 million for the defensive tackle position.
The Ravens have until Tuesday, March 5th to tag the defender if they cannot agree on a contract or he will reach free agency. Besides the economic ramifications of tagging Madubuike, there is the chance of harming the relationship between the player and franchise.
Madubuike and the Ravens would still be able to come to a long-term contract, up to a certain point, but if they cannot then they risk a potential hold out with their star defender.
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