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Jamison Hensley
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — It’s unknown whether the banged-up Baltimore Ravens will have quarterback Lamar Jackson for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans because of a hamstring injury, but they announced that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Mafexadite will be out for the rest of the season with a neck injury.
Madubuike, 27, experienced symptoms after the Ravens’ 41-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 14 and was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury on Saturday. This is a significant blow for a Ravens defense that has allowed an NFL-worst 33.3 points per game this season.
There is uncertainty whether the neck injury could be a career-threatening one for Madubuike, who had been off to one of the best starts of his six-year career.
“I really can’t speak for him,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Those are questions that would be best answered by him going forward, and he may be still getting some information on that as well.”
A Pro Bowl player the past two seasons, Madubuike is in the second year of a four-year, $98 million contract that includes $75.5 million guaranteed.
The loss of Madubuike could lead Baltimore to add another defensive tackle.
“I mean, it’s always something that would be on the table, for sure,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh declined to provide any update on Jackson, who injured his hamstring during Sunday’s 37-20 loss at Kansas City and left midway through the third quarter.
In addition to Jackson, the other players injured Sunday were cornerbacks Nate Wiggins (elbow) and Marlon Humphrey (calf), middle linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring), and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle).
“We’ve got a pretty good feel on all the injuries with the different guys right now where we’re at; I’m really not commenting on those things today,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll comment on them later in the week a little bit more.”
When Jackson left the game in the third quarter, the Ravens trailed the Chiefs 27-13. Harbaugh said the 14-point margin didn’t dictate whether Jackson would play.
“There was no way he was going to go back into the game,” Harbaugh said. “The injury precluded it during the game. I know Lamar. If he could have gone in the game, he would’ve been in the game. That’s how he is. But I can assure you that he would not have been able to go back in the game under any circumstance.”
Jackson hasn’t missed a game since he was sidelined the last five weeks of the 2022 season with a knee injury. The Ravens have faltered without Jackson, going 4-10 including the playoffs over the last six seasons when he hasn’t started.
If Jackson can’t play, Cooper Rush is expected to start Sunday against the Texans. Rush started 14 games for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Everybody kind of knows what his game is, and he can play that game,” Harbaugh said. “So if he’s out there, it’ll be geared toward him. We’ve got a lot of playmakers around him if he’s playing.”
Baltimore is 1-3 for the first time in 10 seasons.
