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Even though Paul Kruger played outside linebacker last year for the Ravens, it doesn’t mean he will be affected by the drafting of Sergio Kindle at that position.
That’s because Kruger won’t even play the linebacker position after bulking up to 275 pounds to play defensive end in Baltimore’s 3-4 defense.
Heading into the Ravens’ first full-team minicamp, expect them both to be on the field at the same time.
“Paul Kruger is going to be working at defensive end during minicamp,” said Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison. ”That’s what he was drafted as. We knew that it would take time for him to gain the weight and the strength. He did it. Now, it’s time for him to move where we want him.”
With Kruger essentially backing up Cory Redding and Trevor Pryce – he apprenticed under Terrell Suggs last year – Kindle will fit right into the defense behind “SAM” linebacker Jarret Johnson.
“Sergio was drafted as a SAM linebacker, with the idea that he’s also a pass rusher,” Mattison noted. ”We’ll throw him into the mix there.
“You’ve got one of the best football players on our team in front of him. We feel strongly about the fact that he can learn behind ‘Double J.’”
Where Kindle could affect Kruger’s playing time is on third down passing situations, where Mattison wants to put the best pass rushers he has on the field.
Kindle’s 16 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss over the past two years is evidence the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder can be one of those players.
Kruger, a fellow second-round draft pick, didn’t have any sacks in limited action last season, but he did post 7.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss in 2008 at the University of Utah.
“In passing situations, we’re just going to put the best pass rushers on the field,” Mattison further explained. ”We want [the pass rushers] to play anywhere from end to tackle as pass rushers. There could be four of those guys in there at the same time.”
