The Ravens have added inside linebacker A.J. Klein, pictured as a member of the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 26, 2021, to their 53-man roster. (Brett Carlsen, AP)
The Ravens have added inside linebacker A.J. Klein to their 53-man roster, signing him off the New York Giants’ practice squad.
Klein has played for the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and Giants over his 10-year NFL career. He appeared in 15 games last season for the Bills, starting four. The 31-year-old joined the Giants’ practice squad Monday after the Bills released him in the offseason.
“It’s been quite a 48 hours for him, I get, just from talking to him,” defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said Thursday. “But shoot, he’s got a great track record. He’s been in the league a long time. He knows how to play. He’s just in a very familiar system for the last couple of days. So shoot, we were just talking about a couple of the calls, and he’s catching right along during special teams. But he can play all three linebacker spots, so he’s going to provide some position flexibility for us and just needed depth right now. And then we’ll see where it goes.”
The Ravens have needed help at inside linebacker, where inconsistency and injuries have stretched the group thin. Starters Patrick Queen and Josh Bynes have both struggled this season, and top reserve Malik Harrison has had to play on the edge amid injuries to the outside linebacker group. Rookie Josh Ross (foot) is on injured reserve, and special teams contributors Kristian Welch and Del’Shawn Phillips have played just one combined snap on defense this season.
Klein said Thursday that he saw a “good fit” in Baltimore. He started studying the Giants’ defense when he signed earlier this week, and he said there’s a “lot of carryover” from former Ravens coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s system to Macdonald’s. But it’s unclear whether Klein could be ready by Sunday night’s game against the Bengals; he joked that “I’m not sure what the game plan even is” for Cincinnati. He’d learn that later in the day.
“I’ve been around a lot of good coaches and I’ve played a lot of ball,” he said. “So hopefully, I can bring experience and share that knowledge and help the back seven communicate. Whatever asset or wherever they see me playing and helping out is what I’ll do.”
Over 134 career games, Klein has 449 tackles, 15 1/2 sacks, four interceptions and eight forced fumbles.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service