The Ravens’ off-season plan to increase high school could have secured the final piece of the puzzle on Tuesday, as veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller has accepted a one-year deal to return home to Baltimore.
Fuller, 30, helps complete a corner unit that needed more experience and depth. Fuller will now play alongside starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, while fourth-round debutants Jalyn Armor-Davis and Damarion Williams compete and develop alongside other younger cornerbacks. Fuller, Humphrey and Peters are former first-round picks.
Fuller was a first-team All-Pro in 2018 when he led the league (tie) with seven interceptions. In 2018 and 2019 he went to the consecutive Pro Bowls. He is a proven game creator, as the former first-round pick had 19 interceptions in his six seasons in Chicago.
He signed a $ 9.5 million one-year deal with the Denver Broncos last season and started 10 of 16 games.
Fuller had a difficult start in Denver that took him to the bench (he played four snaps in a three-week period), but recovered to start five more games and played well. What was remarkable was how Fuller was managed. The Broncos asked him to play nickel for the first time in his career and Fuller took over during the second half of the season.
In Baltimore, Fuller gives the Ravens more flexibility to use him in the slot or bump into Humphrey inside where he has previously shone. Fuller is also a valuable insurer with Peters and Humphrey returning from end-of-season injuries. He missed the entire 2016 season (knee), but on the other hand, has only been sidelined for one game in his seven-year career.
Now Fuller will look to return to his Pro Bowl form at the place he called home. A native of Baltimore, he was a high school star at Mount Saint Joseph who later went to Virginia Tech. The Bears selected him 14th overall in 2014.