Nnamdi Madubuike is getting close enough that the Ravens are talking about a return as something real, not just wishful thinking. After another full practice this week, the veteran defensive tackle said he is “in the ballpark” to suit up Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, which would mark his first game action since Sept. 14, 2025.
Madubuike sounded ready for the part of the game he missed most.
“The contact is what I do,” he said Thursday. “I’m in the trenches.
So contact is great. I love it.
I love getting rough and getting in there and getting dirty with the guys, in terms of the trenches. It feels good; I feel good.
I’m getting better every day.”
That kind of tone fits the way Baltimore has handled his comeback: carefully, step by step. He only became a full participant in practice Wednesday, even though he said he had felt physically able to go for weeks. This week finally gave him something more meaningful - time working on timing with the Ravens’ defensive ends, including Trey Hendrickson, Mike Green and Tavius Robinson.
“Before, I was out there but I wasn’t getting those timing reps,” he said, “which is going to be important on game day.”
He stopped short of saying he’ll definitely play against the Cowboys. “we’ll see,” he said. But he did say he expects to travel with the team to Brazil, and he described the path back as a “unique journey.”
For Baltimore, the possible return of Madubuike matters beyond the headline. The 2020 third-round pick turned himself into an All-Pro in 2023, earned a four-year, $98 million extension, and then ran into a stretch of setbacks that included a 2024 season that fell short of expectations and a neck injury in 2025 that cost him the final 15 games of the regular season. He also had surgery on his spine, and there was real concern about what came next.
Madubuike said later, “I had no doubt I would be back” for this season, but the team kept its future plans close to the vest while he stayed around the Ravens’ games and Owings Mills facility.
Now the question is less about whether he can return and more about what he adds once he does. Baltimore has opened the year as a top-10 run defense, but Madubuike’s 30 career sacks give the front a different kind of punch inside. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said this week he has seen Madubuike look more like “the Nnamdi I have always known” in practice.
“He is going to make everybody around him better,” he said. “I told him yesterday when I saw him out there and he was just feeling free, and I could see him playing with some comfort.
I gave him the old ‘Jerry Maguire’ line - I go, ‘You complete me. You make me whole.’
So I am just excited to see him play.”
The Ravens also had several other injury situations to monitor Thursday. Zay Flowers, who missed Week 2 with a hamstring injury, did not practice.
Ronnie Stanley also sat out after aggravating a toe injury against the New Orleans Saints. Hendrickson, safety Malaki Starks and receiver Chris Moore were limited in Baltimore’s final practice stateside before the trip to Brazil.
There was at least one other possible return on the table. Linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who has been back at full practice for two days, could also be available after the torn ACL he suffered in December. Coach Jesse Minter said Monday that linebacker Trenton Simpson “ is playing like one of our best players right now,” and Weaver said the team will work to get both involved if Buchanan is healthy.
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