Former Ute Paul Kruger heading back to Baltimore


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SALT LAKE CITY — On Sunday, former Ute Paul Kruger is heading back to Baltimore, where his NFL career started after the Ravens picked him in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

It will be the first time Kruger will step onto the Ravens' field after signing with his new team, the Cleveland Browns.

During this past offseason, Kruger became a free agent, even after he and the Ravens won the Super Bowl championship. He was one of the key free agents whom a lot of teams wanted to sign, but he took the five-year, $41 million offer from division rival Cleveland.

Kruger's career started out shaky — in the 20 games he played in his first two seasons he only recorded one sack. The following season, 2011, he focused more on pass-rushing from the outside linebacker position, and had more sacks — 5.5 — than in his first two years.

In 2012, his final year under contract in Baltimore, Kruger started the season with just 1.5 sacks through the first half of the year. He came out strong in the second half of the year, though, dialing up 7.5 sacks, to which he added 4.5 sacks during the Ravens' Super Bowl run, with two of the sacks in the championship game.

The Browns are coming off a 23-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, during which Kruger had four tackles and a sack.

This Sunday, the Ravens will unveil their Super Bowl XLVII banner, which Kruger helped bring back to Baltimore. When asked about whether the excitement before the game would distract him, Kruger said, “That stuff will be maybe cool to see on SportsCenter, but I’m going to be pretty focused on what’s going on.”

Both teams enter Sunday’s matchup with 0-1 records, and since it's a division game, both teams will come out firing — because no one ever wants to start the year 0-2. David Winkworth (@Davito23)

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