Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said last night he will end his four-week holdout and report to the Ravens' training facility at Owings Mills today.
"I'm coming in tomorrow," Siragusa said last night after arriving in Baltimore from his home in Kenilworth, N.J.
Siragusa missed all of training camp and the first three preseason games this summer in a contract dispute. The 11th-year veteran wanted a contract extension and a $1 million raise on his 2000 salary of $1.5 million.
He refused to say whether he got the extension - or the raise - but indicated his teammates played a role in his decision to report.
"I know where my teammates stood from Day One," Siragusa said. "We have a bond between each other, and I knew they'd stick by me. I knew we had that kind of bond. That's why we're playing so well.
"If I didn't have the teammates I have, I don't know if I'd be coming in."
Siragusa, 33, is entering the final year of the four-year contract he signed with the club as a free agent in 1997.
He was replaced in the starting lineup by third-year veteran Lional Dalton.
Siragusa will have two weeks to prepare for the regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 3, but is not expected to participate in Friday's exhibition finale against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands.
He was regarded as a major factor in the Ravens' No. 2-ranked run defense last season, when the team did not permit a 100-yard rusher. He finished sixth on the team with 68 tackles and had 3 1/2 sacks.
Next for Ravens
Preseason opponent: New York Giants
When: Friday, 8 p.m.
Where: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WLIF (101.9 FM)
