The Ravens signed All-Pro defensive tackle Justin Madubuike to a massive four-year, $98 million contract extension this offseason following his 2023 campaign in which he registered a career-high 56 tackles and 13 sacks.
Madubuike was more than deserving of his long-term deal as he showed steady improvement over the first four years of his NFL career.
Now his fellow teammate on the interior of Baltimore’s defensive line, Travis Jones, is hoping to make a similar jump this season.
Jones, a third-round pick in 2022, has done his best to make the most of his opportunities but finished with just 1.5 sacks in his second season.
The 24-year-old hopes to quadruple that number in his third year.
“I just want to go out there and dominate and improve off the things I did last year and just keep being better, stacking days,” Jones said, via the team’s website. “I think I want to go out there for like five, six sacks, at least. Bare minimum.”
That is quite a lofty goal for Jones, who will still have to battle for playing time with Madubuike and fellow defensive linemen Michael Pierce, Broderick Washington and Brent Urban.
However, Jones has put in the work this offseason to reach those goals. He revealed he’s down to 330 pounds after playing last season at 345.
Defensive line coach Dennis Johnson would not be surprised if Jones had a Madubuike-like breakout.
“You want to talk about attention to detail, that’s how he approaches every day,'” Johnson added. “Whether it’s football school or it’s been OTAs, in the meetings; I think he should be [able to have success]. He has to continue to work – which I know he will – but he’ll be in that type of position to have a successful season.”
If Jones can make the leap that he and his coaches think he can, he could soon receive a Madubuike-like payday, too.
