Report: Ravens offered extension to Justin Madubuike, he rejected it

The Baltimore Ravens defense is dominating the NFL this season to near-historic levels judging by the numbers they're putting together weekly.

Just to give you an example, the Flock is leading the NFL with a ridiculous 47 sacks through Week 12, and that's considering they have missed their starters-on-paper from last August's summer camp, Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo, for nearly all of the year.

A key player in this development is none other than Justin Madubuike, who Defensive Coordinator Mike Macdonald must be thinking about as a perfect match to his system.

Madubuike, in case you missed it, recorded his 10th sack of the season last Sunday becoming the first member of the Ravens to reach that milestone since Jalen Suggs accomplished it in 2017 by breaking the double-digit sack barrier.

However, as the season nears its conclusion and we get closer to next spring, Madubuike's future with the Ravens is uncertain if not simply dark and murky.

Adam Schefter of ESPN revealed (h/t Sarah Ellis) on his podcast that Baltimore “put on a press” to sign Justin Madubuike last summer. The defender, however, “rolled the dice and bet on himself” entering his last year under contract, a bet that is surely paying off judging by his level of play.

Justin Madubuike is considered one of the must-extend free agents of the Ravens entering next season, along with defensive back Geno Stone and inside linebacker Patrick Queen.

Baltimore is expected to retain one of those three (either by straight signing that man to a new deal or via franchise tag) but there is a lot of uncertainty about the chances the Ravens have of retaining any of the other two, let alone the trio in tow.

It's not that rejecting the Ravens in the first place means that Madubuike is determined and has already made the decision to leave Baltimore, but it's surely something the Ravens' front office will need to take as a serious warning about how much money he will demand as we hit free agency in a few months.

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