The Baltimore Ravens cruised through the 2023 regular season, going 13-4 and earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Baltimore earned home field advantage throughout the postseason with the best record in the NFL, but that still wasn’t enough to knock off Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Ravens couldn’t get out of their own ways en route to a 17-10 loss in the AFC Championship Game. It was certainly a disappointing end to the campaign, but Baltimore is built to be in contention for years to come.
They have reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, who won the award for the second time in his career, leading the offense. Zay Flower was excellent as a rookie and Mark Andrews continued dominating at tight end when healthy.
Defensively, the Ravens remain one of the best units in the NFL. They get the job done in every facet, getting after the quarterback, stuffing the run, or slowing down an opposing passing attack. But, keeping that unit together will be tough as there are several players set to hit free agency this offseason.
The most important of those players is defensive tackle Justin Madubuike. A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, Madubuike picked a great time to have the best season of his career as he heads into free agency.
In the opinion of Jamison Hensley of ESPN, Madubuike is the most important free agent that the Ravens have this offseason. Retaining him should be near the top of their to-do list once free agency rolls around.
“Madubuike was arguably the biggest breakout in the league this season, becoming the NFL’s best interior pass-rusher. He had 13 sacks in his contract year after totaling 8.5 sacks combined in his first three seasons.
The Ravens, who have tried to sign Madubuike to a new deal, are expected to place the franchise tag on him to keep him from becoming a free agent. The tag, which was around $19 million for defensive tackles last year, would limit what an already-cap-limited team (the Ravens are $638K over the projected cap) can do in free agency,” Hensley wrote.
Allowing Madubuike to hit the open market is something the Ravens are looking to avoid, which is why Henlsey believes the team will use the franchise tag on him. But, that would hinder their ability to sign other players given their salary cap situation.
Hammering out a long-term deal with Madubuike is the best course of action for the Ravens this offseason. It is the only way they can ensure they will keep him without limiting their maneuverability in free agency this year.
If Baltimore allowed him to reach the market, you can be assured teams would throw some large offers at him. The defensive tackle market boomed last season and Madubuike, along with Chris Jones, are going to up it even more this year.
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