![\"Nnamdi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cincinnati-bengals-v-baltimore-ravens-baltimore-maryland-november-07-nnamdi-madubuike-e1785015060139.jpeg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike. <\/p>\n
The mystery over when Baltimore Ravens<\/a> defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike<\/a> will play football again took another turn on Saturday when the Ravens put him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to start training camp.<\/p>\n \u201cRavens placed Pro Bowl DT Nnamdi Madubuike on the Physically Unable to Perform list,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Jamison Hensley wrote<\/a> on X on Saturday. \u201cMadubuike missed the last 15 games with a neck injury and had surgery in April.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRavens placed six players on the physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp\u2019s opening, including DL Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones<\/a> and John Jenkins<\/a>,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter wrote<\/a> on his official X account on Saturday. \u201cMadubuike is recovering from a career-threatening neck injury that has sidelined him since Week 2 last year, but the Ravens are optimistic that he can return this season.\u201d<\/p>\n Ravens rookies reported to training camp on Friday. Veterans report on Tuesday.<\/p>\n According to 1 report, Madubuike could be back sooner than later.<\/p>\n \u201cRavens placed DL Nnamdi Madubuike on acting PUP list, but the good news is he\u2019s been cleared by independent spine and cervical doctors to return to field, per sources,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Jeff Zrbiec wrote<\/a> on X on Saturday. \u201cHe\u2019s on PUP to get reacclimated and for team to evaluate conditioning. He could practice as early as next week. Madubuike, who missed all but two games last year, has been determined to return. Ravens first practice is next Wednesday. Things are in good place after many months of uncertainty about his future.\u201d<\/p>\n Madubuike, when he\u2019s healthy, has been 1 of the NFL\u2019s elite interior defensive linemen \u2014 and 1 of the highest paid. He signed a 4-year, $98 million contract extension with the Ravens before the 2024 season.<\/p>\n Madubuike\u2019s Status \u2018Biggest Question\u2019 for Ravens<\/p>\n The Ravens are 1 team with Madubuike in the fold and an entirely different team without him. He\u2019s that good, and it doesn\u2019t matter how the Ravens spin it; another player his caliber just isn\u2019t available to them.<\/p>\n But the Ravens can adapt if they know Madubuike isn\u2019t going to be around for another year \u2014 or ever again \u2014 after he missed 15 games in 2025 with a severe neck injury. That\u2019s why they hired new head coach and former\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>\u00a0defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Jeff Zrbiec singled out<\/a>\u00a0whether or not Madubuike gets medically cleared to play as the biggest question facing the Ravens headed into 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cMadubuike\u2019s 2025 season ended after just two weeks, when he sustained a neck injury that jeopardized his career,\u201d Zrbiec wrote on July 2. \u201cThe Ravens have repeatedly declined to discuss Madubuike\u2019s future and the 28-year-old hasn\u2019t addressed it publicly either. What we do know is that Madubuike had neck surgery in April and team officials are speaking in somewhat optimistic tones about the two-time Pro Bowl DT\u2019s recovery. Head coach Jesse Minter said Madubuike\u2019s status will \u2018clear itself up.\u2019 If Madubuike returns and has no restrictions, he\u2019ll be as impactful of an addition as the Ravens could have made this offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n Ravens Signed $112M Free Agent Edge Rusher<\/p>\n The Ravens made some huge moves to improve their defensive front in 2026 after the loss of Madubuike and injuries that cost quarterback\u00a0Lamar Jackson<\/a>\u00a05 games in 2025 were the 2 main factors that sent Baltimore from Super Bowl contenders in the preseason to missing the postseason for the 1st time since 2021.<\/p>\n After attempting \u2014 and failing \u2014 at a trade for\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>\u00a0edge rusher\u00a0Maxx Crosby<\/a>, the Ravens went out and signed NFL All-Pro edge rusher\u00a0Trey Hendrickson<\/a>\u00a0to a 4-year, $112 million free-agent contract.<\/p>\n If Madubuike can return to form, being paired with Hendrickson should be a scary thought for opposing teams.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike. The mystery over when Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":824028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-824027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}