Arthur Maulet on playing his former team: ‘No special thoughts. They’re just in the way of what we need to do’

The mission comes first for Maulet

Back in September, Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet said the Week 5 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, his former team, is circled on his calendar. Now, a month later, the game has arrived. But it appears his pursuit of revenge has become antiquated as Maulet’s focus has shifted to focusing on the teams’ goals.

“I have nothing special. No special thoughts,” Maulet said. “They’re just in the way of what we need to do. We’ve got to take over the division [and this] is another division game. Obviously, it’s a big rivalry. We’re just trying to go 1-0. I’m not making it anything special. I got to clean up some things from last week. Obviously a little bit of extra motivation but the biggest thing is for us to play well on all three phases and win the game.”

It’s been a lengthy wait for Maulet to see the field. He dealt with injury throughout training camp and missed lengthy amounts of practice. For the first two weeks, he was inactive and watched from the sideline. He saw action against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3, but only three of his 18 total snaps were on defense. It wasn’t until Week 4 that he saw action, but after injuries persisted in the secondary, Maulet was given a hefty 44-snap workload. He relished the chance to buckle up his chinstrap on Sunday.

“It was definitely a weight off my shoulders,” Maulet said. “I’ve been working my butt off to get healthy and I’m finally getting to that spot of getting 100-percent healthy. Just loving the repetitions, loving flying around with the guys on defense. I was grateful to be out there, honestly.”

The grind to getting healthy was frustrating for Maulet, who has been healthy the past two seasons. But he says he’s now at 100-percent and he’s embedding himself in what’s being coached and enjoying himself in practice and on the field.

“I’m finally getting healthy. I’m finally learning the scheme. Finally getting some reps with the defense. I like the way they’re flying around and I like the way I’m fitting in it.