Defensive lineman Calais Campbell knows defensive end Yannick Ngakoue from their time together in Jacksonville and he knows the Ravens since coming to the team in an offseason trade this year.
Campbell thinks the two sides are made for each other. Ngakoue became Campbell’s teammate again when the Vikings traded him to Baltimore last week and Campbell said on Monday that “this place is perfect for him.”
“I hope this really works out for him here and he can be a long-time Raven, because this place, it really is special,” Campbell said, via Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. “He’s probably one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. He watches a lot of tape. He’s always first in line, running sprints as hard as he can, gets to the ball. When they say, ‘Lead the league in effort,’ he’s definitely going to be an effort guy. You see it when you watch his tape; he’s a high-motor guy. The coaching staff here, the organization, they’re going to allow him to be himself and to flourish. So I feel like this is going to be a great place for him. I’m really excited for him.”
Ngakoue is expected to be on the practice field Wednesday and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said they will “just plug him in” to the defense when that happens. He’ll then try to add to the five sacks he picked up in Minnesota when the Ravens face the undefeated Steelers on Sunday.