Paul Kruger had 9.0 sacks for the Ravens last year in the regular season, then followed that up with 4.5 sacks in the postseason, and parlayed his big year rushing the passer into a five-year, $40 million contract with the Browns.
This year, Kruger hasn’t had the same level of production: Kruger had a sack in Week One against the Dolphins, but he’s been held without a sack since then. One sack in six games is not what the Browns were expecting, and Kruger acknowledged that after a rough game against the Lions on Sunday, he needs to improve.
“Up front we needed to get to [Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford] a little more. That’s something that I’m going to be focusing on big time. I’ve got to get to the passer,” Kruger told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Sack totals don’t tell the whole story, and Kruger has been able to bring pressure at times, even if he hasn’t been able to bring the quarterback down. But Kruger hasn’t been the same kind of player in Cleveland this year that he was in Baltimore last year. And for what the Browns are paying him, last year’s Raven is the player Cleveland needs.