SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Kruger left Utah two years early to enter the NFL draft. Expectations were high for the second-round draft pick, and he was eager to prove to the Baltimore Ravens and rest of the league what he was capable of.

Coming Up on SportsBeat Sunday:

Interview with Paul Kruger

Watch this Sunday at 10:35 as Jeremiah Jensen sits down with the former Ute at Utah's Pro Day.

He had to wait for three years to get that chance.

An injury to All-Pro linebacker Terrell Suggs before the 2012 season thrust Kruger into a bigger role in the Ravens defense, and he took full advantage of the opportunity.

He led the Ravens in sacks last season with nine and added another 4.5 in the playoffs, helping Baltimore win the Super Bowl.

"It's really what I came in wanting to do," Kruger said. "I wanted to be a standout player and develop into a guy that was producing a lot. It's been a long road and I'm finally glad to be here."

The challenge of reaching his NFL potential pales in comparison to the challenges he has faced off the field. Kruger survived two near-death experiences. The first came at age 14 when he was involved in a Jeep accident. He lost a kidney and his spleen, spent a month in the hospital, and was told he would never play sports again.

Then, in January 2008 he was stabbed by a gang member during an altercation in Salt Lake City while hosting his younger brother Dave on a recruiting trip. He suffered a collapsed lung and a punctured artery, a wound that required 100 staples to close.

Even after becoming a starter in Baltimore, he suffered a back injury that almost ended his breakout season before it started.

"From time to time I will remind myself that I'm just lucky to be here," he said. "I'm blessed to be here. It's an opportunity that I almost didn't have to be in this position, so I feel fortunate."

Now Kruger is a Super Bowl champion and one of the best 3-4 outside linebackers in the NFL. He just signed a five-year free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns that will reportedly pay him $41 million.

"Everything from how they want to use me as a player, my role on the team, financially they were just so excited to get me there," he said, speaking on why he chose to sign with Cleveland. "That's really what I wanted. I want to be on a team that was as excited about me as I was about being there. That was really the right fit."

Kruger Care Foundation

Lending support to schoolchildren

You can join Paul Kruger, and assist local schoolchildren through Kruger Care, a charity that works with local business and community leaders, to help the children achieve self-sufficiency according to their own abilities, interests and circumstances.

The move is bittersweet as he leaves a place and a team that were special to him.

"(Baltimore) is a great place to play football, it really is," he said. "I took it for granted the first couple of years. I didn't understand how special it was there. As the years went on, my third and fourth year, I was in awe of our situation. The way the organization treats us as players, the type of players they brought in, the leadership there and then the fans. It's similar to Salt Lake. Just a lot of support."

His hew challenge is to help the Cleveland Browns become winners. They haven't reached the playoffs since 2002 and haven't won more than five games since 2007. With his new contract Kruger will get a chance to be a featured player on the Browns' defense and the potential to become one of the best pass rushers in the game.

Kruger will also have to deal with the pressure and high expectations that come with that type of a contract. When you've been through what Kruger has, that challenge seems manageable. He hopes to be a part of something special in a proud city starving for winning football.

"As an athlete you have a desire to win," he said. "When you started playing tee-ball or kickball at recess, that is what drove you to become the type of person that you are today. It was all about winning. It's all about becoming better."

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