As the Baltimore Ravens prepare to face off against the Detroit Lions in a potential preview of Super Bowl LIX, John Harbaugh's squad will be without one of their best players, as Nnamdi Madubuike has been ruled out with a neck injury.
Talking to reporters on Saturday before his team makes its final preparations for the Monday Night Football showdown, Harbaugh was asked about Madubuike and divulged the little bit of information he could share.
“I really can't share any details on the injury itself, but it's something that they're looking at. [Nnamdi Madubuike] came up with some symptoms after the [Browns] game. [There was] nothing specific in the game where we saw it actually happen, but they're dealing with the symptoms, and they're testing right now. So, he will be ruled out for this game, and they're going to try to get to the bottom of it.”
Could this injury ultimately send the star defensive tackle to IR? Harbaugh wasn't ready to say just yet, but noted that he's excited to play rookie defensive linemen Aeneas Peebles in his place, as the sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech could see an uptick in playing time without the Pro Bowler.
“Right, and [Aeneas Peebles] is going to need to step up. It's kind of just – to your point – with Nnamdi [Madubuike] being out, those guys are all going to have to step up and pick up the slack. Definitely with ‘Fub,' [Aeneas Peebles] he has to do that in the run game and the pass game, whenever he is in there [with] no drop off at all. I know he is going to play hard, he's going to get after it, and I have a feeling he'll make a few plays.”
While Peebles doesn't have the same pedigree as Madubuike, he at least presents upside at the position, which is nice when one of the better interior players in football has to take a backseat for at least a week. If he can produce in Madubuike's absence, imagine how much better the Ravens' defensive front will be when the two players are on the field together.
