If you want to point to what the biggest change for the Baltimore Ravens needs to be in 2026 — outside of finding a new head coach — you can start with the defensive front.
With the absence of an elite edge rusher and star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike out for almost the entire season and maybe more with a neck injury, you can’t point to a game the group really set the tone for the defense this season. And that’s not good.
It also means there could be a reckoning for those position groups this offseason, which means shedding some weight in terms of salaries, with Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti predicting that could include releasing veteran defensive tackle Broderick Washington.
“An ankle injury limited Washington’s 2025 season to just 4 games, and the 29-year-old is heading into a contract year in 2026,” Ginnitti wrote. “An outright release would leave behind $1.85M of dead cap, opening up $4M of space.”
While $4 million in salary cap space doesn’t seem like a lot, we’re also talking about a team that could be gathering resources to pay quarterback Lamar Jackson. Every penny counts.
Washington’s Injury Way Worse Than Projected
The big thing to consider with Washington is that even if the Ravens were to take on his contract for 2026, there’s no guarantee he even plays.
While Washington’s injury was originally thought to be just his ankle, he ended up having surgery to repair an Achilles tendon issue — although it was not classified as a torn Achilles tendon.
From CBS Sports on November 3: “Washington landed on injured reserve in late September due to what was initially listed as an ankle injury, but it’s an Achilles injury that the 2020 fifth-rounder is rehabbing from. The injury isn’t a tear, and while a timetable for his recovery hasn’t been shared by the Ravens, (John) Harbaugh relayed that a return for Washington is not ‘imminent.’ John Jenkins will continue to work in an elevated role on the defensive line for as long as Washington is sidelined.”
Key to Fixing Defense: Madubuike’s Recovery
While the Ravens have elite, NFL All-Pro talent in the secondary with Kyle Hamilton and at off-ball linebacker with Roquan Smith, they’re missing that kind of talent up front if Madubuike can’t return in 2026.
It’s not clear in the slightest if Madubuike will be able to take the field again — whether in 2026 or moving forward. The Ravens have already made moves to try and stem that loss by signing Jenkins to a 1-year, $2.5 million contract extension.
The real long-term answer could likely come in the 2026 NFL draft, where ESPN’s Jordan Reid predicts the Ravens will take Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods in the first round at No. 14 overall.
“Woods entered the season as one of the top prospects in the 2026 class but didn’t have the season that many expected, finishing with only two sacks after registering three as a sophomore in 2024,” Reid wrote in his January 6 mock draft report. “But he is an explosive pocket collapser who has the versatility to rush from multiple spots. Woods has to be more consistent, but he can penetrate the backfield and would boost a Ravens defensive front that was forced to rely on 36-year-old John Jenkins after Nnamdi Madubuike was sidelined early in the season by a neck injury.”
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