Devin Hester says Baltimore Ravens were easy choice
There many suitors for Devin Hester when he was cut from the Atlanta Falcons, but he said the choice on where to continue his career was easy.
“It wasn’t a hard choice to pick the Ravens,” Hester said according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
He also told Hensley that the number-one factor in his decision was to go to a team with a top special teams unit. The Ravens have been in the top five for the last five years, and had the top-ranked unit in 2015.
Former Chicago Bears special teams coach Dave Toub is on the Ravens staff, another plus for Hester.
After playing in only five games for the Falcons last season because of a big toe injury, he was released during the offseason. Hester owns the record for most return touchdowns in NFL history, scoring 20 times. He will handle kickoff and punt return duties for the Ravens in their opener against the Buffalo Bills.
Hester sounds like he will have no problem jumping in with limited practice.
“A returner, I feel, is all about experience,” Hester told Hensley. “Everybody out here can run fast, can make guys miss. I feel when you’re back there, you have to be able to manage the game, you have to make the right decisions, pick up small instances of just repetition. I put a lot of time in it from the return standpoint. I feel like I can come here right away and contribute.”