Safety Michael Huff never experienced a winning season during his seven years in Oakland.
But he did see some from a distance.
He took note of the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
"I've played a lot of football in my career, but I've always watched the Ravens from afar," Huff said when he was introduced Thursday. "Obviously, they are a successful organization."
Huff came into the NFL in 2006. The Raiders won two games that year. They progressively got better from there, winning four games in 2007, five in 2008 and 2009, then eight in 2010 and 2011. That was until Oakland dropped back to just four wins last season.
Huff, 30, was released by the Raiders as he was set to earn $8 million next season. In Baltimore, he signed a three-year deal, at a reported* *drastic average salary drop to $2 million per year.
But that didn't seem to bother Huff.
"At this point in my career, it's not chasing money, it's not chasing things like that," he said. "It's chasing that Super Bowl ring. I said I don't think [of] any other place than to come here. Baltimore is that place. You want to come and win a Super Bowl, then [this is] where you want to be."
Huff got a taste of playing in Baltimore last season when the Raiders traveled to M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 11. Oakland took a 55-20 loss on the chin that afternoon, and Huff came away with an impression of Baltimore football.
"I saw the fans were loud," Huff said. "I said, 'They may have some of the best fans in the NFL.' They were loud the whole game, yelling and cheering for their team. I'm definitely excited to play in front of these fans."
The Ravens have seen seven recently-crowned Super Bowl champions leave their defense this year.
But they've now added another former champion in Chris Canty, who won with the New York Giants in 2011, and two veterans in Marcus Spears, who has been to the playoffs but never the Super Bowl, and Huff, who has never reached the postseason.
Huff will be part of a hungry defense that will look to help the Ravens reach the postseason for the sixth straight season and perhaps more.
"[I'm] excited to carry on a legacy, carry on a tradition and to defend the Super Bowl," Huff said. "It's really the main thing of why I'm here, is just to help us win. I said I'll do whatever it takes to help us win."
