ExtremeRavens Posted August 10 Posted August 10 When Chidobe Awuzie has been healthy, he has proved to be a dependable cornerback with playmaking ability and sound defensive chops. That, of course, has been the rub. Last year with the Tennessee Titans he missed nine games because of a groin injury. In 2022, a torn ACL in Week 8 ended his season with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2020, a hamstring injury cost him seven games with the Dallas Cowboys. And in his rookie year in 2017, he missed six games because of hamstring and ankle injuries. Healthy again this past offseason, however, the former second-round draft pick out of Colorado had options as a free agent with a few teams expressing interest in the 30-year-old. Then the Ravens called. “There was something in my heart that was like ‘Ravens,’” Awuzie said Saturday in his first meeting with reporters since signing a one-year, bargain-basement $1.225 million deal in March. “It was a little bit intimidating, but also excitement. Just surrounding the culture that they built here, and it was like a gut feeling that just told me to run after it.” So he did. He talked with coach John Harbaugh along with cornerback Marlon Humphrey, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and a few others. Their positive reactions were all he needed to hear. So far, so good. On Saturday, Awuzie had an interception of quarterback Lamar Jackson, adding to what has already been a strong training camp. Along the way, he’s been adapting to his fit in a talented and personality-heavy secondary that already includes cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins and Jaire Alexander. The transition included joining his fellow defensive backs at Alexander’s house for a recent night of pizza, wings, card games and TV. “Everybody’s just really starting to jell together, and honestly, I don’t know where I fit,” Awuzie said. “I just exist. I’m a fun guy, but I’m also serious when I need to be. So yes, I think the good thing about it is that you can see that we’re all bouncing off of each other. “When you do that, and when you make plays, you start to celebrate, and it’s just going to keep building.” It helped, too, that there was already some connectivity with Baltimore’s defense. "It was a little bit intimidating, but also excitement," cornerback Chidobe Awuzie said of signing with the Ravens. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Awuzie spent last season with the Titans, whose defensive coordinator, Dennard Wilson, was the defensive backs coach for Baltimore in 2023. Awuzie also spent three seasons with the AFC North rival Bengals from 2021 to 2023. “A lot of the defensive concepts are very similar,” Awuzie said of Wilson and the Titans. “A lot of the ways they approach the meetings, the energy, the approach, you could tell that he was trying to bring that there. After being here now, it’s like, ‘OK.’” Ravens senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano has also had a profound impact, both in what he’s taught Awuzie and how often he communicates with him, no matter the time of day — or night. “He’ll text you at any point in time,” Awuzie said. “I feel like I’ve learned something from him almost every day, really. It’s never really a review. He always has a new pointer, new something to look at on the smallest thing, so I love it. “It might be anywhere around 3 a.m. or so. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only DB that’ll say that, but that’s great. When you have someone that is that dedicated to you watching a play of yours, whether it was good or bad play, and send it to you and have tips on it, what else would you want as a player from your coach?” Now all Baltimore needs in return is for Awuzie’s best ability to be his availability. “It’s an opportunity to be great,” he said. “We’re basically great on paper right now, and we all know that, but we know that there’s a long road to actually be great, a lot of time spent in the film room, a lot of time spent off the field building that chemistry. We’ve been talking already about starting to figure out how we’re going to be watching film during the season and stuff like that. “There’s a lot of things that we could pick each other’s brains just in the whole unit. We’ve all come from [and] been pretty successful in our careers so it’s an opportunity to be great, but we know that it’s going to take a lot to get there.” Starting with being able to stay on the field. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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