Nnamdi Madubuike Returns For Ravens Vs Cowboys In Rio

The big man is back. Madubuike got hurt in September 2025, had neck surgery this offseason and sat out the first 2 games of 2026. Baltimore's final injury report for Sunday's game in Rio de Janeiro gave him no designation at all. That's the Ravens telling you he's playing.

Mike Garafolo

@MikeGarafolo

Nnamdi Madubuike is good to go for the #Ravens. Set to play in his first game in over a calendar year.

Mike Garafolo@MikeGarafolo

#Ravens WR Zay Flowers questionable after a limited practice. T Ronnie Stanley is out. t.co/vpoDFGwsl0

It's hard to overstate how long this was. He went down in the second game of last season and never came back. He had neck surgery in April, got cleared for training camp in late July, and was still inactive for the first 2 weeks of this season. Madubuike called the year "definitely one of the hardest points of my life," and said he blocked out the noise the whole way: "There are a lot of rumors out there, but I always knew I was going to be back."

The 2 full practices this week settled it. Earlier in the week he said a return was "in the ballpark," which is about as cautious as a guy can be about something that was obviously happening. This isn't a depth piece coming back, either. Baltimore gave him a $98 million extension to be the guy who wrecks the middle of the pocket, and the defense has spent a year and change without him.

Madubuike isn't the only defender coming back. The final report had Stanley out, Zay Flowers questionable, and a second name that matters for the front 7.

Jeff Zrebiec

@jeffzrebiec

Nnamdi Madubuike has no injury designation for Sunday’s game vs. Cowboys, suggesting he’s good to go. LT Ronnie Stanley (toe) has been ruled out. WR Zay Flowers (hamstring) is questionable. ILB Teddye Buchanan (knee) also has no game designation and is in line to make season debut.

Teddye Buchanan, who's been dealing with a knee injury, has no designation either and is lined up for his season debut at inside linebacker. Getting Madubuike and Buchanan back in the same week is a real boost for Jesse Minter's defense heading into a game against Dallas.

The offense has problems, though. Stanley missed every practice this week with a toe injury, and Minter said his status could go all the way until game time before the team just ruled him out. Playing without your left tackle against the Cowboys' pass rush on a neutral field in Brazil is not fun. Flowers is the one to watch. He did some individual work Friday and was listed as limited, but that label comes with a big asterisk.

Mike Garafolo

@MikeGarafolo

Flowers’ limited status is a projection. The #Ravens held a walkthrough today.

That's the catch. Friday was a walkthrough, so "limited" is the team's estimate of what he would have done, not something anybody actually watched. Minter sounded more optimistic about Flowers than about Stanley, so questionable leans toward playing, but we won't know until inactives come out. The one sure thing on this report is Madubuike playing his first game in more than a year, and for a Ravens defense that has missed him since September 2025, that's the headline.