Ravens Could Lose All-Pro Starter to Division Rival Bengals

As free agency looms around the corner teams are beginning to make plans on who they will attempt to bring sign to their team. The Baltimore Ravens will have multiple free agents that will be in high demand and that includes breakout defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen wrote “2024 NFL free agency: Best team fits for top 50 players” and in it he listed AFC division rival the Cincinnati Bengals as the “best team fit” for the star defensive tackle. Seeing the Bengals listed may make Ravens’ fans stomachs turn.

Bowen wrote, “I also like him in Cincinnati for a defense that needs to add more speed and playmaking ability to its front seven.”

The Bengals have one of the top offenses in the league when QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are on the field. However, their defense on the other hand was a mess in 2023.

Pro Football Reference had their defense ranked 21st in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed. “The Bengals allowed a league-worst 6.0 yards per play last season,” Bowen wrote.

Madubuike would slot in next to DE Trey Hendrickson (17.5 sacks in 2023) and form dynamic pass rush. “Madubuike has the foot quickness and first-step juice to leverage blockers and make an impact on the pocket,” Bowen explained.

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Justin Madubuike’s Career Year Came at Perfect Time

Madubuike had a career season in his walk year, which was great timing for himself but not the Ravens. Madubuike is only 26 years old and will turn 27 during the 2024 season.

The defensive tackle was drafted by Baltimore in the third round of the 2020 draft. Before the 2023 season, he only had a total of 8.5 career sacks and his season high for tackles was 42 combined tackles.

In 2022, he became a started 16 out of 17 games began to show the talent Baltimore saw in him when they drafted him out of Texas & Am. He exploded in 2023 as a defensive force and leader on the Ravens top ranked defense.

Madubuike set career highs with 13.0 sacks (5.5 more than his career total before the season), 56 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss and a whopping 33 QB hits (double what he had in first three seasons).

Madubuike was the first Raven since legend Terrell Suggs, in 2017, to hit double digit sacks in a season.

According to Pro Football Focus, he was 17 out of 130 interior defenders with a grade of 77.4.

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Madubuike’s Market Could Price the Ravens Out

The Ravens are not going to let Madubuike go without a fight. “Look for the Ravens to make a strong play to retain Madubuike, who had a career-high 13 sacks in 2023,” Bowen wrote.

They could preempt any chance for him to even test the market by franchise tagging the defensive tackle but that might not sit well with him. Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway listed the estimated franchise-tag for a DT at $19.8 million.

If the Ravens choose to go that route, they could still sign him to a long-term deal or risk him holding out. Playing on the tag could lead to a disgruntled star that would either need to be franchised again or leaves in 2025.

If the Ravens do not tag him then they may will need to address the fact that he will be looking for a monster contract (s0mething that will be difficult with the currently limited cap space).

Spotrac’s market value tool projects the tackle’s market value to be in the range of 4-years, $81 million, but there is a good chance he could surpass that number. However, even this might be underestimating what he could get on the open market.

Spotrac compares Madubuike with the following players that all received four-year contracts, New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams ($96 million), Tennessee Titans DT Jeffery Simmons ($94 million), Washington Commanders DT Daron Payne ($90 million) and New York Giants DT Dexter Lawrence ($87.5 million).

The only difference is these players have had more sustained success and were all 25 years old when they signed. Madubuike is still in the prime of his career, so nobody will be surprised if he surpasses Spotrac’s market value projection.

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