Amid all of the excitement around the Baltimore Ravens' upcoming season, Nnamdi Madubuike's return can't be forgotten. Madubuike missed all but two games with a serious neck injury last season. After this injury, Madubuike's career was in jeopardy.
Thankfully, all offseason, Madubuike has been trending in the right direction. On Monday, he took a major step forward by hitting the sled alongside his teammates.
This is the first time Ravens DT Nnamdi Madubuike has hit a sled in a workout open to the media.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) August 24, 2026
Another step is the Pro Bowl defender’s comeback from offseason neck surgery. pic.twitter.com/WFbcpH7nDN
While he has been off the PUP list since late July, he's been understandably limited to purely individual drills on the side. As such, participating in a drill alongside his teammates is a positive sign.
Now, it remains unclear whether Madubuike will be on the field for the Ravens' first regular season game against the Indianapolis Colts in two and a half weeks. Regardless, he's continuing to ramp up and is clearly trending upwards.
Nnamdi Madubuike can uplift the Baltimore Ravens' defense
During Monday's practice, head coach Jesse Minter spoke about the possibility of Madubuike playing in Week 1.
"That's something we'll look at," Minter said. "I don't know if I've got a definitive answer for that. I think every day is like, 'How did today go, what more can we do?' "We'll continue to look for that and see where that's at. But we feel really good about him being in a good position to help us."
Even if it's not Week 1, at some point (presumably in the early portion of the season), Madubuike feels destined to return, and that's great news for the Ravens.
There's always some concern about how a player will look after returning from such a serious injury, and Baltimore fans will simply be happy to see Madubuike on the field.
When healthy, Madubuike is one of the league's best defensive tackles. He is ferocious as both a pass-rusher and run-stopper. In his last two healthy seasons, Madubuike recorded 19.5 sacks, 99 combined tackles, and 23 tackles for loss.
There were a ton of issues with the Ravens' defense last season, but Madubuike's presence was sorely missed in both of those areas.
With Minter's schemes, Trey Hendrickson's elite pass-rushing, Calais Campbell's veteran presence, and internal growth, the Ravens' defense is primed for a massive surge. Madubuike is yet another reason why the Ravens' defense should improve by leaps and bounds.
Even if he doesn't fully return to form, Madubuike is a high-quality player who can still help uplift the unit.
Baltimore's upgraded front-seven makes this the perfect situation for Madubuike. The Ravens could still use his skill set, but they won't be overly dependent on him. In other words: Madubuike can only be additive to the team.
All offseason long, Ravens fans have been eagerly following Madubuike's progress, and as the season inches closer, he's clearly trending in the right direction, especially after Monday's update.
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