Willis McGahee spent four seasons with the Ravens (2007-10), but he said Sunday would not be a grudge game for him. He is not interested in proving anything to the Ravens. McGahee says he just wants to help the Browns win.
“I had some good times in Baltimore,” McGahee said during a conference call. “I can’t complain about it. I was done right by the city and the organization. There’s no hatred or anything. It’s a business. It was time for me to move on and go somewhere else, and that’s what happened.”
After injuring his knee last season with the Broncos, McGahee was looking for work before the Browns traded Trent Richardson to the Colts. That opened up an opportunity for McGahee, a 32-year-old running back trying to prove he can still be a featured back.
Things have not gone that well for McGahee so far with the Browns, averaging 3.1 yards per carry through six games. He also was sidelined again at practice on Thursday (knee). However, Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski said McGahee’s experience has been an asset to a young team.
“We have a young group of guys, and the leadership that he brings, the maturity and the perspective that he’s had – he’s been great in terms of that,” Chudzinski said.
The Ravens have not stopped the run as well as they hoped. Regardless of what McGahee said, the Ravens were expecting him to bring extra motivation.
“A lot of the guys in the locker room are familiar with Willis, he was here,” said defensive end Chris Canty. “He’s a hard-nosed running back, he’s going to stick it up in there. There are not a lot of gimmicks in his game, he’s just a tough guy. He’s going to have a little juice about him in this game, obviously, playing against a former team. I kind of know what that’s like, so he’s going to be ready to go. He’s going to be roaring out of there, and we’ve got to be prepared for that. We’ve got to be able to match that intensity.”
