Lorenzo Neal wants to know how he ended up in Baltimore. The fullback is coming off a season in which he made the Pro Bowl for the fourth time by paving the way for a running back to amass at least 1,000 yards for the 11th consecutive season.
His reward: San Diego fired him.
“I’m just coming off a Pro Bowl,” he said. “You get angry when you’re at the top of your game, rated the number one fullback and then free agency comes and I felt like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer because of my age I got left out of the Reindeer games.”
The 37-year-old was signed by the Ravens on Tuesday and practiced with his seventh team of his career on Wednesday, as he’s trying to prove he can hit defenders just as hard in Baltimore as he did in San Diego. The 5-foot-11, 255-pounder opened enough holes for running back LaDainian Tomlinson to rush for 1,474 yards before Neal missed the final three games with a fractured fibula, ending his string of 221 consecutive games played.
In 15 seasons, Neal has rushed for 782 yards and six touchdowns in addition to making 192 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns. In Baltimore, Neal will be reunited with Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who served in a similar capacity when both were in San Diego.
“There’s no learning curve right now,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He comes right in and he knows the offense. He’s been in it for so many years of his career. This is kind of coach Cameron’s call, and it’s a great call for us. It just makes a lot of sense for our team and our offense.”
Neal, a who was selected by New Orleans in the fourth round of the 1993 draft, also has played for the Bengals, Titans, Buccaneers and Jets. He was with the Chargers for five seasons before being released in February.
“Cam Cameron is a great offensive coordinator who knows how to exploit defenses and is a very offensive-minded type of guy that I’m very familiar with,” Neal said when asked why he signed with the Ravens instead of the Buccaneers.
Cameron said Neal adds a veteran presence to the backfield, which has been plagued with injuries, most notably to starting running back Willis McGahee, who is expected to be ready for the season opener on Sept. 7. McGahee had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday.
“[Neal’s] been in the system, which helps, but he gives us another physical guy,” Cameron said. “He gives us some flexibility in our running back room with Willis being dinged up. It also allows [fullback] Le’Ron McClain to play tailback if we need him to. He’s always been great with the running backs and coming through in crunch time in big games and this offense needs this veteran experience.”
