Camp Notes: Nnamdi Madubuike Returns

The first day of Baltimore Ravens training camp under new head coach Jesse Minter is in the books, and it was a short one, clocking in at just under 90 minutes.

There wasn’t a ton of action, and perhaps the most exciting moment of the day came when Nnamdi Madubuike ran onto the practice field in uniform for the first time since September of 2025.

Madubuike warmed up and stretched with the team, but spent the majority of practice on a side field while he works to get back into game shape. He passed his physical and was removed from the PUP list, a striking reversal of where we thought we’d be with #92 just a few short months ago.

Lamar Jackson had a good first practice, making some solid connections with Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. He also made a Lamar-esque play where he faked a screen pass across his body, and spun mid-air before hitting the jets and beating a pursuing defender up the sideline.

Flowers and Bateman were both active throughout the day.

Flowers made a snag in stride on a pretty touch pass from Lamar, and hauled in a few other balls over the middle of the field.

Bateman looked good as well, with perhaps the best play of the day coming from the sixth-year receiver from Minnesota. He made a nice adjustment and went into a slide to make a catch over the middle of the field.

Ja’Kobi Lane made a nice reaching catch in an earlier period, and also caught a ball over the middle of the field during 11-on-11 drills. The catch radius from Lane is unreal – he’s a big target who Jackson seems to trust early on, and he worked in with the starters fairly often on day one.

Lane’s mid-round counterpart Elijah Sarratt didn’t see much action, and the same can be said for the tight end room as a whole.

Mark Andrews was quiet and couldn’t squeeze a ball he probably should have had, while Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas were quiet.

The tight ends will be one of the most intriguing groups throughout camp. Andrews needs to have a bounce-back year after recording a career low in receiving yards a season ago, and the two rookies will battle amongst themselves to carve out a role in the offense.

One thing that was immediately apparent about the rookie class as soon as they stepped out on the field Wednesday afternoon was their sheer physical size.

The two most noticeable? Adam Randall and Zion Young.

Randall had a few upfield runs and will be one of the guys I’ll watch even more closely when the pads go on.

Young looks almost like a defensive tackle, and his hands were popping on the edge.

Fellow edge Mike Green was also active, setting the edge successfully on a few attempts.

Rookie punter Ryan Eckley showed off the leg during a special teams period early in practice, booming a few punts toward the corner while creating some mid-air wobble on some others.

Jesse Minter said the shorter practice was intentional, and that the ramp up will come over time.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2026/07/29/camp-notes/sight-for-sore-eyes/