The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with former Oakland Raiders safety Michael Huff just two weeks after being released by his former team. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN , Huff agreed to a three-year deal that is worth $6 million with the Ravens, who needed help in their defensive backfield.
The Ravens released strong safety Bernard Pollard earlier this offseason and lost free safety Ed Reed to the Houston Texans. Huff visited the Dallas Cowboys last week before signing with the Ravens and should be a starter come September. Huff is the fourth defensive player the Ravens have signed this offseason, including the addition of outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil this past Sunday .
Huff was the seventh overall draft pick in 2006 by the Raiders and spent the first seven seasons of his career there. Last year, Huff started 14 of 16 games at cornerback after the Raiders’ secondary was setback due to multiple injuries.
The 30-year-old finished 2012 with 56 tackles, two interceptions, and 13 pass breakups, primarily as a cornerback. Huff has 11 career interceptions and had a career-high 94 tackles in 2010.
A product of the Texas Longhorns, Huff is very athletic and considered a pretty solid tackler, though he is known to breakdown in coverage from time to time. Huff’s experience and flexibility defensively will certainly help the Ravens, who were lacking ever since Ed Reed packed his bags and left for Houston.
The Ravens defense is currently going through a major overhaul that all started before they won the Super Bowl when Ray Lewis announced he would retire after the playoffs. Since winning the Super Bowl, linebacker Paul Kruger signed with the Cleveland Browns and cornerback Cary Williams took his talents to Philadelphia to play for the Eagles.
Outside of signing Dumervil and Huff, the Ravens upgraded their defensive line with the additions of Chris Canty and Marcus Spears. Canty has played the last four seasons with the New York Giants while Spears his spent his entire eight-year career with the Cowboys. Canty and Spears were teammates for four seasons with the Cowboys from 2005-08.
The Ravens look to have made the necessary moves to contend for the Super Bowl once again in 2013 and will use the upcoming NFL Draft to cover the rest.
Does signing Michael Huff shore up the Raven’s secondary or will the new look defense fail to meet expectation in 2013?
