Ravens WR Zay Flowers, DT Nnamdi Madubuike will play vs. Cowboys in Rio

Brian Wacker, The Baltimore Sun on Sep 27, 2026

Published in Football

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RIO DE JANEIRO — The Baltimore Ravens got a surprising boost Sunday for their game against the Dallas Cowboys at Maracanã Stadium.

Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who exited Baltimore’s season opener two weeks ago after reinjuring his hamstring, is active and will play. Flowers missed last week’s home opener, and the offense sputtered in his absence as the Ravens lost to the New Orleans Saints, 24-17.

That wasn’t the only good news for Baltimore (1-2).

For the first time in 379 days, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will play in a game after suffering a season-ending neck injury in Week 2 of 2025. Madubuike practiced fully all week, including Friday afternoon at Espaço Lonier, Botafogo Football Club’s training ground.

Madubuike had been building toward a return after a long ramp-up that included surgery in April.

Flowers playing was a bit more surprising.

The condition of the field has been a hot topic all week, raising questions about whether the explosive Pro Bowl receiver and the Ravens trusted the playing surface and his balky hamstring enough to return in Brazil.

Flowers has been dealing with a hamstring injury since Baltimore’s joint practices against the Minnesota Vikings in mid-August. He missed two weeks of practice, but returned for Week 1 and had 150 yards and a touchdown on five catches before leaving in the second quarter and not returning in the victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Several hours before Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, though, Flowers churned his legs to life on the field, performing a series of short sprints as chunks of the grass flew like divots from under his cleats.

The Ravens and their top receiver, who has led the team in catches and receiving yards each of the past two years, clearly felt comfortable enough to move forward.

For Madubuike, it will be his first game since Sept. 14, 2025, when he suffered a neck injury in a Week 2 game against the Cleveland Browns. Over his past 36 games, Madubuike has 21 1/2 sacks.

That included 13 in 2023, an NFL-best among interior defensive linemen.

The Ravens also got back linebacker Teddye Buchanan. The 2025 fourth-round draft pick suffered a torn ACL last December amid a promising rookie campaign and is making his season debut.

They will, however, be without starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who was declared out Friday with a toe injury. Second-year tackle Carson Vinson is making his first career start in Stanley’s place.

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