Billy Cundiff is coming back to Baltimore.
The last time Cundiff was at M&T Bank Stadium was on Aug. 23, 2012, for a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cundiff did not kick that game, but he watched from the sidelines as undrafted rookie Justin Tucker sealed his fate and won the Ravens' kicking job.
Cundiff will return to Baltimore this Sunday as a member of the Cleveland Browns, and it will be his first game against the Ravens since his infamous missed field goal against the Patriots at the end of the 2011 AFC championship.
"Obviously, he was with the Ravens and has the history there, but it's no different," Browns Head Coach Rob Chudzinski said. "This game is its own game, and that's how we'll approach it."
When Cundiff takes the field again in Baltimore, will the Ravens try to rattle him with reminders of the past?
"Billy and I have a good relationship, so I'm going to try and keep that the same," outside linebacker Terrell Suggs said.
Suggs, who is known for his propensity to do a little trash talk, then smiled and thought about it a little more.
"Who knows?" he continued. "Maybe if he has to go out there and kill us, I may try to mess him up a little bit."
Cundiff signed with the Browns just before the start of the season. The 33-year-old kicker made his only field-goal attempt last week in the season opener.
Cundiff spent three seasons in Baltimore, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2010, but his tenure is most remembered by the way it ended, when he shanked a potential game-tying, 32-yard field goal in the final seconds of the AFC championship.
"There were a lot of things that went on with that situation," Cundiff said after signing with the Browns. "Whether it was the scoreboard showing a different down, or the play clock being rushed … it was just a comedy of errors on a lot of fronts. I think that's the best way to put it."
After getting cut by the Ravens last season, Cundiff was then signed by the Washington Redskins. He spent five weeks in Washington, and he struggled mightily. Cundiff converted on just 58 percent of his field goals, missing four of his final six attempts.
The veteran kicker then spent this preseason with the New York Jets before getting signed by Cleveland.
"We had a number of guys that we had worked with and tried out, and ultimately, Billy had it," Chudzinski said. "He had a great workout; he had a good preseason this season prior to getting with us."
Cundiff is not expected to receive a warm welcome from Ravens fans, but his former teammates and coaches had positive remarks about him throughout the week.
"We'll have a chance to have a conversation with him, I hope," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "Billy is a very good kicker, and Billy made a lot of kicks, especially at M&T [Bank Stadium]. I don't know if he ever missed here. He's kicked off really well for them so far. He'll be another guy who is on the other side for this game, but I've got a lot of respect for him."
