Ravens set to lose at least one of Patrick Queen and Justin Madubuike as free agents?

It's been barely a month and a half of football but fans will never grow tired of looking ahead to the next season and how NFL teams can keep improving their rosters.

One way to do that is to add new players, whether via trade, draft, or free agency. Another one, keeping your core pieces in tow for years on end.

Two players currently excelling on defense for the Ravens while playing under the final year of their deals are Justin Madubuike and Patrick Queen. Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com tackled their futures in a question he answered in his latest mailbag.

"They're off to the best starts of their careers, and they could be pricing themselves out of Baltimore. Queen is on pace for a whopping 150 tackles and 10 sacks. Madubuike is on pace for a career-high 56 tackles and 13 sacks. If they finish with those numbers, or even close to it, they would command contracts near the top of the league"

- Ryan Mink, BaltimoreRavens.com

"The Ravens would love to keep Patrick Queen and Justin Madubuike on this team for years to come," Mink stated. After that, however, he made clear that "their prices have only gone up as they're off to the best starts of their careers, and they could be pricing themselves out of Baltimore."

The beat reporter was quick to make the simple calculation of projection the remainder of the season stats for both men: "Queen is on pace for a whopping 150 tackles and 10 sacks. Madubuike is on pace for a career-high 56 tackles and 13 sacks," he informed.

After reaching that endpoint, the conclusion Mink arrived at was the obvious and expected one, as he wrote "If they finish with those numbers, or even close to it, they would command contracts near the top of the league at their respective positions if they hit the open market."

The question now is whether or not Baltimore will be willing to pony up that much cash or not. Mink has a strong opinion on what's about to happen.

"I expect GM Eric DeCosta to fire up talks with both players," he stated. "Maybe it happens during this season, maybe after, maybe following a tag."

The beat reporter thinks "When there's a strong enough will, there's often a way to shuffle money around and make things work." He also made everybody aware that "the cap is the cap," adding "at the end of the day, the Ravens can't afford to keep everybody."

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