Is Ravens Justin Madbuike a Top 10 Free Agent? Where Does DT Rank?

Every season there are a host of changes in personnel and the Baltimore Ravens are going to have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to their impending free agents. All can’t return and given that the Ravens have 23 unrestricted free agents, general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh will have to comb through the list and see who they can and can’t fit into their salary cap.

One such player is defensive tackle Justin Madubuike. The 26-year-old had a career-best season in a contract year as he was a force of nature for Mike Macdonald’s defense. Madubuike would finish with 13 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, and 12 tackles for loss (all led Ravens players) as he now is set for a huge, yet deserved payday.

But with Madubuike being a free agent, where does he rank among the entire group of players coming out of contract? CBS Sports.com has him as the seventh-best free agent this offseason. The only players above Madubuike on CBS’ list are Brian Burns, Jaylon Johnson, Tee Higgins, Josh Allen (Jacksonville Jaguars), Kirk Cousins, and Chris Jones. That is some group. Exactly what kind of contract Madubuike is looking for is unknown, but CBS Sports has his projected contract set at four years, for $81.2 million which gives him an annual salary of $20.3 million.

If that is the contract that Madubuike agrees to, it would put him in the top 10 highest-paid defensive tackles in the league. Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald leads the way ($31,666,667 million average salary) along with New York Jets star Quinnen Williams ($24 million) and Jeffrey Simmons of the Tennessee Titans ($23.5 million).

So Madubuike would be handsomely paid for his efforts this season and while it wouldn’t make him the highest-paid defensive tackle, he would be near that range. The Franchise tag has been floated as a possible idea and as the seventh-best free agent, Madubuike will surely be looking for a long-term deal. Madubuike stated that “Baltimore is home” so he wants to stay, it is just about getting a deal worked out that suits both parties.