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Like Ed Reed, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo returned to practice this week after missing the first six weeks of the year while on the Physcially Unable to Perform list, and like Reed, Ayanbadejo himself will determine whether he is healthy enough to play on Sunday against the Bills.
He just hasn't come to that decision yet.
After testing his injured quadriceps in practices for the last three days, Ayanbadejo says he'll meet with head coach John Harbaugh and the two will put together a plan for the linebacker's return to game action.
"I'm feeling good," Ayanbadejo said this afternoon. "Today was a speed day. We ran through everything. Harbaugh's going to sit down with me Saturday or Sunday and we're going to figure out what we're going to do. At this point in time, it's not a yes or a no [for Sunday], but we're going to figure it out."
It's been a long layoff for Ayanbadejo, who suffered the injury last October against the Patriots. He says he initially was a little wary of returning to contact drills, but now he's ready to start hitting guys in "other colored jerseys, not my own guys."
As could be expected after over a year away from practice, Ayanbadejo said that the drills left their mark on his quad over the last three days.
"Oh man, it got sore," said Ayanbadejo, putting plenty of emphasis on the word sore. "It got sore, but the good thing, the encouraging thing is that it felt better as the week went on, whereas I was kind of thinking that it was going to [regress] throughout the week, but I actually felt better.
"I felt good out there today. Jerry [Rosburg, special teams coordinator] was rolling me in and out of special teams, so we're ready either way. If I play or not, the team's going to be ready."
The three-time Pro Bowl special teams player is anxious to return, and while Harbaugh said that the Ravens will be cautious with both Ayanbadejo and Reed so as to avoid a set-back, Ayanbadejo sounded like he would prefer to test things out this Sunday against Buffalo.
"Am I 100 percent? I'm 100 percent healed, but am I 100 percent football-ready? I haven't hit anybody since last October," Ayanbadejo said. "Ideally, I'd like more time, but we have a bye coming up the next week, so I'll have plenty of time to recover. So I think it's a great opportunity for me to get in the game, and the goal would be to finish the game and be ready for a good week of practice after we beat the Bills."
