Justin Madubuike Says Baltimore Is ‘Home,’ But ‘Business Is Business’

After Justin Madubuike’s breakout season, keeping the All-Pro defensive tackle in Baltimore is arguably the Ravens’ top offseason priority.

Madubuike, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent and land a lucrative contract, spoke with NFL.com at the Pro Bowl over the weekend about his future.

“In terms of Baltimore, man, that’s home,” said Madubuike, a third-round pick of the Ravens in 2020. “But, you know, business is business, and that side is going to take care of itself.” Madubuike added that when it comes to negotiations, he’s “letting my agent worry about that.”

Madubuike, who led all defensive tackles with 13 sacks this season, spoke fondly about the 2023 Ravens, who have 29 pending free agents.

“We had a helluva year,” Madubuike said. “We were actually a special group. This was a special group. We had a lot of guys that not only loved playing with each other in terms of just football, but we loved just being around each other. Hopefully, we can keep as much guys as we can, but it’s a business, people gotta go where they gotta go. It was a special team. We should’ve went all the way. We came up short, it stings.”

When General Manager Eric DeCosta was asked about negotiations with Madubuike at the Ravens’ end of season press conference last week, he said “we’ll have a good plan in place.”

NFL.com’s Kevin Patra said it’s imperative that the Ravens bring back Madubuike.

“With top-paid DTs like Quinnen Williams and Jeffery Simmons recently landing contracts worth more than $90 million, the Ravens could use the franchise tag (projected to be roughly $20 million, per Over the Cap) as a placeholder to ensure Madubuike doesn’t leave Baltimore in 2024,” Patra wrote. “Retaining the DT could mean losing a player like Patrick Queen, but that’s the cost of doing business.”