The Baltimore Ravens have signed veteran DL Chris Canty to a three-year contract, general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced Wednesday.
Canty, who has played eight NFL seasons – his first four with the Dallas Cowboys and the past four with the New York Giants – has seen action in 113 career games, making 95 starts.
"Chris is a good player and an upgrade for our defense," Newsome stated of the 6-7, 317-pounder. "We've seen that in our study, and he has also played very well against us. We like the fact that he is coming from a winning franchise that recently won the Super Bowl with his help. Plus, he can help us at both end and tackle.
"John [Harbaugh, Ravens head coach] and I met with him for a while last night, and we especially liked the enthusiasm he showed to be a Raven. It's good to add a quality player and person like Chris to our roster."
Originally selected by Dallas in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Canty has totaled 297 tackles (199 solo), 19 sacks, 12 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. With New York, he played in 49 games (45 starts), totaling 149 tackles (97 solo) and nine sacks (including a career-high four sacks in 2011, when the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI).
Additionally, Newsome announced that the Ravens have re-signed exclusive rights free agent RB Damien Berry and restricted free agent G/T Ramon Harewood to one-year contracts.
Berry, who originally signed with the Ravens as a rookie free agent in 2011, spent his first NFL season on Baltimore's practice squad. He missed the entire 2012 campaign after being placed on Injured Reserve (neck/shoulder) during training camp. Harewood, who was selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, has played in six career games, making five starts at left guard. The 2012 campaign marked his first NFL action, having spent his first two seasons with the Ravens on Injured Reserve (knees and ankle).
