Reports last month indicated that the Ravens have increased optimism about defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will be able to return from the neck injury that kept him out for the final 15 games last season, but the team has offered no concrete word about his outlook for the coming season.
That didn’t change at Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta’s press conference on Wednesday. While DeCosta didn’t provide clarity about the veteran’s chances of playing this fall, he did say that any uncertainty will not be a major factor in how the team approaches the draft next week.
“I would say that Nnamdi’s status doesn’t really affect us that much in terms of like what we’re going to do in the draft at the defensive tackle position,” DeCosta said. “So, as you know, we just try to rank the board, and then whoever the best player is at that point in time. Certainly, we would love to get a young defensive lineman if we can. I think it’s important to try and do that every single year if we can. It’s an important position. We want to get better up front, certainly, on both sides, offense- and defensive-line-wise. It’s a priority for us, I think, and getting a younger player in there who’s a talented younger player would be ideal, and it just depends on how the board falls and who’s available at that time.”
Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins, Aeneas Peebles, C.J, Okoye, and David Olajiga are the other defensive linemen currently on the roster in Baltimore.
