Sep 5, 2008 5:30 pm US/Eastern
Ravens Sign OT Willie Anderson
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) ―
The Baltimore Ravens signed former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Willie Anderson to a three-year, $11 million contract Friday morning, and the four-time Pro Bowl lineman hopes to play Sunday against his old team.
The 6'5", 340-pound former Bengals team captain isn't expected to start immediately at right tackle, where Adam Terry is currently atop the depth chart.
"It would be crazy to think that I'm more prepared than those guys right now," Anderson said. "I'm just trying to recover from being out of work for a week. The good thing about it is we'll play those guys twice per year."
Anderson, 33, was cut by the Bengals after refusing to take a pay cut and chose the Ravens over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams.
He received a $1.67 million signing bonus from Baltimore, which cut tight end Edgar Jones to create a roster spot for Anderson.
"The guys in Cincinnati are in shock right now, but I told them to just go ahead and get over it, move on," Anderson said. "Those guys took it kind of hard. They have been texting me and wishing me good and hating that I'm gone. There's no animosity between me and the organization. It was just an issue of people given bad info."
Anderson has started 173 of 181 career games after being drafted in the first round in 1996 out of Auburn, but lost his starting job during training camp to Stacy Andrews.
Anderson is due an $830,000 base salary this season that includes incentives that can boost the deal to $1 million if he plays 40 percent of the snaps.
If he triggers that escalator clause, then his total compensation will be $3.5 million this year.
He was due to make $3.1 million from the Bengals before being cut.
"The Bengals didn't cut me because I couldn't play, they cut me because I said I didn't want to be there anymore," Anderson said. "That was me not wanting to deal with the non-football issues I had to deal with for so long. There were other issues that after 13 years you kind of get tired of dealing with, those non-football issues."
Anderson's experience dwarfs the Ravens' offensive linemen, who are led by center Jason Brown's 29 career starts. He was limited to a career-low seven games and five starts last season due to injuries, ending his streak of Pro Bowl appearances.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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