It has been more than a year since Nnamdi Madubuike hit someone in an NFL game. Sunday, he may finally be back in action. After his second full practice of the week, Madubuike sounded as eager as ever to return.

Especially the hitting.

“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.”

And it may be a matter of days before Madubuike is back on the defensive line for the Ravens.

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The 28-year-old defensive tackle said he is “in the ballpark” to return to action for the first time since Sept. 14, 2025, when he left a game against the Cleveland Browns with a neck injury that he worried might end his career. When the Ravens play the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, they may put the two-time Pro Bowler in for his season debut.

The team and Madubuike have cautiously ramped up his activity, making him a full participant in practice only this Wednesday. Madubuike said he has felt physically able to practice for weeks, but he reached a milestone this week by getting to work on his 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.”

Although Madubuike shied from a declaration that he’ll play against the Cowboys — “we’ll see,” he said — he indicated he would be traveling with the team to Brazil and acknowledged he’s looking forward to a return to football after a “unique journey.”

The 2020 third-round draft pick was an organizational success story, developing into an All-Pro during the 2023 season. Baltimore rewarded him with a four-year, $98 million contract extension, but Madubuike has faced numerous challenges since, following a somewhat underwhelming 2024 season with his injury in 2025.

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Although Madubuike later said “I had no doubt I would be back” for this season, there was significant concern as he missed the final 15 games of the 2025 regular season and had surgery on his spine. Even though Madubuike was physically present around the Ravens at games and their Owings Mills practice facility, the team was vague about his future.

The Ravens have started the season as a top-10 unit against the run but could use Madubuike (30 career sacks) to generate more interior pass rushing pressure. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said he has seen Madubuike play more like “the Nnamdi I have always known” this week 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.”

On other injury fronts, the Ravens were missing key pieces Thursday. After missing Week 2 with a hamstring injury, wide receiver Zay Flowers did not practice. Neither did tackle Ronnie Stanley, who left the game against the New Orleans Saints after aggravating a toe injury. Hendrickson, safety Malaki Starks and receiver Chris Moore were limited in their participation in the Ravens’ final stateside practice before their flights to Brazil.

After two full practices, linebacker Teddye Buchanan may also make a return from the torn ACL he suffered in December. Though coach Jesse Minter acknowledged Monday that linebacker Trenton Simpson “is playing like one of our best players right now,” Weaver said the team will make efforts to involve both if Buchanan is healthy.