Ravens Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike won’t play in Kansas City due to a neck injury, but it could be longer.
Asked Wednesday whether there are long-term concerns, Head Coach John Harbaugh said, “I would say I’m concerned about it.”
“We’re going to have to see going forward when they know what they need to know,” he added.
Harbaugh said he cannot comment on the specifics of Madubuike’s injury yet.
Last week, Harbaugh said Madubuike had symptoms after the Ravens’ Week 2 win against the Cleveland Browns and underwent further testing. Harbaugh said there was “nothing specific in the game” that they saw happen to Madubuike.
Madubuike hasn’t practiced since that game and missed Monday night’s loss to Detroit, in which the Lions ran for 224 rushing yards.
It’s a massive loss for a team looking to bounce back on defense. Madubuike, who led the Ravens with 13 sacks in 2023, is one of the team’s best players. He signed a four-year, reported $98 million contract extension before last season.
“It’s big. Obviously, he’s a guy that we need and is dominant and stuff like that,” outside linebacker Odafe Oweh said. “I feel bad, but it’s the next-man-up mentality and we’ll be ready.”
Oweh and Madubuike are good friends and brothers linked by their Nigerian heritage. Oweh said he spoke to him a few days ago before the Ravens played the Lions.
“I was just trying to get in his head, see how he feels and everything,” Oweh said. “He feels good. He’s just trying to get back on the field.”
The Ravens have other defensive line injury concerns, as Travis Jones (knee) and Broderick Washington Jr. (ankle) also did not practice Wednesday. Baltimore signed veteran defensive tackles Taven Bryan and Josh Tupou to the practice squad.
The Ravens will rely more on rookie sixth-round pick Aeneas Peebles, who has made two tackles and had one of the Ravens’ six quarterback hits on Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
“It always hurts losing such a phenomenal player, especially an All-Pro defensive tackle like Nnamdi is,” Peebles said. It hurts, not only losing that as a teammate but also as a leader out there on the field. But it’s our job to him, and not only him but to the Ravens community, to pick up the slack, accept the challenge, and rise to the occasion.”
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