diff --git a/vllm/patches/deepseek_v4.py b/vllm/patches/deepseek_v4.py
index 5e7ea781..7b67e132 100644
--- a/vllm/patches/deepseek_v4.py
+++ b/vllm/patches/deepseek_v4.py
@@ -1667,8 +1667,7 @@ def _make_deepseek_v4_nvfp4_weights_mapper() -> WeightsMapper:
 
     return WeightsMapper(
         orig_to_new_prefix={
-            # Strip model. prefix (checkpoint has it, model params don't)
-            "model.": "",
+            # Keep model. prefix — model params use it (e.g. model.embed_tokens.weight)
         },
         orig_to_new_regex=expert_rename_regex,
         orig_to_new_suffix=suffix_renames,