OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Trey Hendrickson sacked quarterback Lamar Jackson three times during his tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals, but none of them came easier than this.During a team session in Wednesday’s organized team activity, Hendrickson cleanly beat left tackle Carson Vinson and had a direct and unimpeded path to the Baltimore Ravens quarterback, who was scanning downfield. As he got about two steps from Jackson, Hendrickson veered to the right to avoid any contact with his new teammate.A clean hit from the blindside of an unsuspecting quarterback is the type of opportunity Hendrickson dreams about, but such instances will have to wait until September. Hendrickson, however, made sure the offense knew about it, hopping around and celebrating with teammates. He also got a congratulatory pat from head coach Jesse Minter.“Just the way he operates, I think we were talking about Derrick (Henry) last week, and Trey’s very similar in a sense,” Minter said Wednesday. “He’s coming into a new situation, new defense, new terminology. Just to watch his process of how he learns, how he needs to know what he needs to know and also know what everybody else is doing, he’s an unbelievable leader in the edge room. He’s helping really bring those young guys along as well. I think it was a lot of third-down (work) at the end of practice, and that’s why he’s here — to help close out those situations for us on defense.”When Hendrickson signed a four-year, $112 million deal with the Ravens in March after they backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade because of concerns about Crosby’s physical, the 31-year-old spoke excitedly about getting onto the field, learning the defense and gaining relationships with his teammates.That process has accelerated during the offseason workout program. Minter not only talked Wednesday about how vocal Hendrickson has been in helping an otherwise young Ravens edge-rush group, but he brought up the veteran’s constant communication with Vinson, a second-year fifth-round pick who is a candidate for the swing-tackle role.Minter said Hendrickson and Vinson have been talking after plays and trading notes. Hendrickson’s leadership has been a bonus, but ultimately, he was brought in to add juice to a pass rush that was nonexistent last year. He was added because of his ability to beat tackles on the edge and bring down the quarterback. The Ravens are hopeful that the scene from Wednesday, in which Hendrickson had a free run at Jackson, will play out over and over again during the regular season.“An extremely well-defined technical rusher,” Minter said. “He uses his hands really, really well. He can bend really well. He’s really good at seeing the snap count and being able to do that. He knows how to attack different tackles based on how they set. He brings it every play. I think he’s done a great job learning some different techniques that maybe he hasn’t done before and playing the run and doing things like that. So, I am just very excited, and very, very, very pleased with Trey up to this point, and I am excited to have him on our side.”Madubuike getting closer?The Ravens still don’t know definitively whether standout defensive end Nnamdi Madubuike will play in 2026 after missing most of the 2025 season with a neck injury that necessitated surgery in April. Minter, however, confirmed Wednesday that Madubuike has been at the facility rehabbing, taking part in aspects of the offseason workout program and working hard to get back on the field.“I’ll probably, again, leave that up to him (to answer) when it’s really to the point where he may be out there, but he’s definitely getting a lot of work in,” Minter said. “He’s trending in a great direction, I would say.”The Ravens will be happy to get Nnamdi Madubuike back on the field, but it remains unclear when that is going to happen. (Mark Konezny / Imagn Images)Madubuike, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, didn’t play after Week 2 last year. The Ravens have consistently declined to offer specifics about the neck injury and Madubuike’s future. Madubuike also hasn’t addressed reporters since the neck issue arose. Getting him back would be a significant development for the Ravens, who badly missed Madubuike’s disruptive ways along the defensive interior last year.Inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan is “really far ahead of schedule,” Minter said, after he tore up his knee in a game last December. Buchanan, who started 13 games last year as a rookie fourth-round draft pick, watched the last 45 minutes of Thursday’s OTA from the sideline.“Everybody kind of knows the timeline of when it happened, but the way that guy operates, the way that guy works, I don’t think there is a timeline for him,” Minter said. “He’s an impressive dude in how he goes about his business, just as most of our guys are.”Madubuike, Buchanan and outside linebacker Adisa Isaac, who still hasn’t been cleared to return after missing all of last season with an elbow injury, were three of the Ravens’ 11 non-participants Wednesday. Also not practicing were wide receiver Rashod Bateman, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, defensive linemen Calais Campbell, Travis Jones and John Jenkins and defensive backs Marlon Humphrey, Chidobe Awuzie and Malaki Starks. Awuzie did watch the end of practice from the sideline.Rotation continuesThe center rotation continued Wednesday as Jovaughn Gwyn, who followed new offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford from Atlanta, got his opportunity in front of Jackson after Danny Pinter led the group last week. Looking to settle on a successor for Tyler Linderbaum, Minter said he views it as a three-man rotation. He didn’t identify who the third player was in that rotation, but team officials brought up Corey Bullock as a starting center candidate earlier in the offseason.Minter, who has downplayed the importance of who is getting the first-team repetitions at center, said the team is still evaluating starting options at several other positions.“There’s certain guys that (if) we put up a depth chart right now, like Lamar’s our starting quarterback. I think everybody would understand that,” Minter said. “But a lot of the positions where you might not have a super established guy, right now, it’s an organization chart. It’s different guys getting work with different groups. I think there’s a multitude of positions where we’re really trying to rotate a lot of pieces.”Quick hittersJackson looked relatively sharp, although he was intercepted by cornerback Nate Wiggins while trying to force the ball to top target Zay Flowers, who was surrounded by three defenders. … Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley also was picked off by undrafted rookie safety Silas Waters on an overthrown deep ball intended for Xavier Guillory. … Young wide receivers Devontez Walker and Dayton Wade had strong practices and took turns making big plays, while undrafted rookie tight end Ty Pezza had the offensive play of the day by elevating to catch a deep pass over linebacker Carl Jones Jr. … Minter hasn’t been loud during the two open OTAs, but he was vocal Wednesday in urging guys to get to the next play rather than celebrating the previous one. … Standout safety Kyle Hamilton didn’t practice last week, but he was back on the field, spending part of the workout doing conditioning. … The Ravens brought the medicine ball tossing contest back out for the “be at your best when your best is required” portion of practice with the defense getting the best of the offense this time. Guillory got the one win for the offense over safety Keondre Jackson, but inside linebacker Trenton Simpson out-dueled running back Derrick Henry and defensive lineman Aeneas Peebles out-distanced Bullock.