The Baltimore Ravens added more experience to what had been their thinnest position a year ago, officially signing journeyman cornerback Cassius Vaughn to a one-year, veteran minimum deal on Friday.
Vaughn, 27, a fill-in at nickelback for the Detroit Lions a year ago, comes to the Ravens two weeks after the team signed free agent Kyle Arrington. He takes the roster spot that was opened when Baltimore injury-waived undrafted rookie cornerback Julian Wilson.
The Ravens are in a much better situation at cornerback than they were a year ago. Baltimore returns both starting cornerbacks (Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb) and improved their nickelback spot with Arrington. The Ravens also bring back two cornerbacks (Asa Jackson and Rashaan Melvin) who started a combined eight games last year in the regular season.
Vaughn will look to crack the roster as the fifth or sixth corner. He is known for being able to hold his own when lining up on the outside, but he tends to struggle when covering the slot. Injuries forced Vaughn to playing the nickel last season for the Lions, and he was inconsistent in that role. He finished with five passes defensed and two interceptions in 13 games, which included five starts.
He graded out as the 80th-best corner last season by Pro Football Focus, which was two spots below Webb. Quarterbacks completed 76.3 percent of their passes against Vaughn, which was fifth-worst in the league last season.
It shouldn't be much of a transition for Vaughn because he previously played in Indianapolis (under former Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano) and in Detroit (under former Ravens secondary coach Teryl Austin). Vaughn, an undrafted rookie in 2010, began his career n Denver (2010-11).
