Ravens sign receiver Stallworth to one-year deal
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BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens have signed controversial wide receiver Donte' Stallworth on a one-year contract, the NFL team said on Wednesday.
Stallworth, 29, a former Cleveland Browns player, was suspended for the entire 2009 season for a manslaughter conviction after killing a pedestrian in Miami while driving under the influence of alcohol. He served 24 days of a 30-day jail sentence.
Stallworth was reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell after the Super Bowl and released by the Browns the next day.
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"I will never get that morning back," Stallworth said in a statement on the Ravens website (www.baltimoreravens.com). "It weighs on me every day and will for the rest of my life...I have to show otherwise that what happened doesn't reflect who I am."
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said the team had given a lot of thought to signing Stallworth.
"We've done extensive research into Donte' beyond football," Newsome said in a statement. "He made a huge mistake. There's no doubt about that. He has paid a significant price....As Steve (owner Steve Bisciotti) has said, we believe in second chances, and Donte' does deserve that."
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(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina, Editing by John Mehaffey)