Ravens practice report: Nnamdi Madubuike ‘trending in a great direction’ in rehab

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Nnamdi Madubuike is out of sight during the Ravens’ open organized team activities. But the Pro Bowl defensive lineman is almost never out of mind.

Madubuike’s recovery from a season-ending neck injury and offseason surgery has been one of the most probed topics in Baltimore since he first missed a game in September. Former coach John Harbaugh, new coach Jesse Minter, general manager Eric DeCosta and even teammates have all been asked for updates.

Asked again for an update after Wednesday’s practice, Minter again deferred to Madubuike, who has not spoken to reporters since early last season or participated in on-field workouts open to the media. But Minter acknowledged that Madubuike remains active around the facility and is doing “certain parts” of the team’s offseason program, an encouraging development for a 28-year-old whose future in football seemed dubious last year.

“He’s definitely getting a lot of work in,” Minter said. “He’s trending in a great direction, I would say.”

The Ravens fortified their defensive line this offseason with the return of Calais Campbell, who mentored Madubuike in his early years, and the drafting of Rayshaun Benny, a consensus Day 3 talent who surprisingly lasted until the seventh round. A return to form from Broderick Washington, who struggled last year as he dealt with a string of injuries, could also help the Ravens’ depth at the three-technique spot (aligned over a guard’s outside shoulder).

Madubuike, whose four-year, $98 million deal with the Ravens runs through the 2027 season, had 13 sacks in 2023, 6.5 sacks in 2024 and two in two games last year. He’s also one of the team’s best run defenders, especially against zone schemes.

Inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who watched from the sideline Wednesday while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in December, is “really far ahead of schedule,” Minter said. Timelines for ACL rehabilitations typically range from nine months to a year, but Minter didn’t say when Buchanan’s expected to be cleared for football activities.

“He’s an impressive dude in how he goes about his business, just as most of our guys are,” he said.

In 14 games as a rookie last season, Buchanan had 93 tackles, third most on the team, and five tackles for loss.

Hendrickson gets into gear

New outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson was one of the stars of the afternoon Wednesday, effectively killing three passing plays in 11-on-11 work.

On one play early in practice, he sniffed out a wide receiver screen to Zay Flowers and batted down quarterback Lamar Jackson’s pass behind the line of scrimmage. He later got his hand on another pass, swatting aside a third-and-long attempt.

But Hendrickson’s most impressive repetition came against left tackle Carson Vinson, who got a bump on the depth chart with Ronnie Stanley missing at practice. On one drop-back, Hendrickson beat Vinson with an outside speed rush, then turned the corner on his way to the pocket for a would-be sack, before veering away from Jackson.

“He’s coming into a new situation, new defense, new terminology,” Minter said of Hendrickson, who signed a four-year, $112 million deal with the Ravens this offseason. “Just to watch his process of how he learns, how he needs to know what he needs to know and also know what everybody else is doing, he’s an unbelievable leader in the edge room. He’s helping really bring those young guys along as well. I think it was a lot of third-down [work] at the end of practice, and that’s why he’s here, to help close out those situations for us on defense.”

End zone

• Along with Madubuike, Buchanan and Stanley, seven Ravens did not practice Wednesday: wide receiver Rashod Bateman; defensive linemen Travis Jones, Calais Campbell and John Jenkins; cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey, Chidobe Awuzie and Amani Oruwariye; and safety Malaki Starks. Outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (elbow) was dressed for practice but was primarily a spectator. Cornerback Bilhal Kone was limited to positional drills, while safety Kyle Hamilton participated in a handful of team drills.
• Minter indicated that the Ravens’ center competition is a three-horse race: Danny Pinter, who took first-team reps last week; fellow offseason signing Jovaughn Gwyn, who got the nod on Wednesday; and Corey Bullock, who backed up Pro Bowl selection Tyler Linderbaum last year and could get work with other projected starters next week. “Sometimes you want to see how a guy does with certain people next to him and then other certain people next to him the next practice,” Minter said. “And so we just want to give those guys a bunch of different reps with our offense, a bunch of different reps with the different interior linemen that they’re playing next to, different quarterbacks that they’re handling, cadences and things like that.”
• Jackson had a productive day in his second practice of OTAs, but his one interception was avoidable. After a run fake, Jackson looked downfield for Flowers, who was running a deep cross. But Jackson’s pass landed in a crowd of defenders and was ultimately picked off by cornerback Nate Wiggins.
• Undrafted rookie safety Silas Walters also had an interception on a deep throw, but the pass from Tyler Huntley was called back because of an offside penalty on outside linebacker Tavius Robinson.
• Rookie wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane had a welcome-to-the-NFL moment in 11-on-11 work when running back Derrick Henry all but ran him over in the open field. The third-round pick almost snagged a one-handed grab near the sideline on an out-breaking route, but he couldn’t complete the catch with cornerback Keyon Martin in tight coverage.
• Wide receiver Devontez Walker had a couple of explosive gains, including a long catch-and-run in seven-on-seven work and a middle-of-the-field catch with good separation on third-and-long. Wide receiver Dayton Wade, a practice squad member the past two seasons, had a handful of catches as well.
• Tight end Ty Pezza, an undrafted rookie from Brown, had one of the day’s most unexpected highlights, high-pointing a deep pass from Huntley down the left sideline for a catch over linebacker Carl Jones.
• Cornerback K’Von Wallace, forced into safety snaps with the team’s limited participation at the spot, broke quickly on a pass from Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews over the middle and timed his jab at the ball perfectly for an impressive breakup.
• As he did once last week, Minter ended practice with offensive and defensive players competing in an over-the-head medicine ball toss. Defensive lineman Aeneas “Fub” Peebles bested Bullock, and inside linebacker Trenton Simpson beat Henry, but the offense avoided the sweep thanks to wide receiver Xavier Guillory, whose throw just eclipsed safety Keondre Jackson’s.