One year ago this week, the Ravens signed outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy “off the couch,” as he put it, to their practice squad. The low-risk addition yielded big rewards: a career-high nine sacks and a two-year, $10 million contract extension.

On Tuesday, the Ravens signed another pass rusher, hoping for a similar revitalization. Yannick Ngakoue, a former Maryland standout and Pro Bowl selection who spent part of the 2020 season in Baltimore, will start over with the Ravens on their practice squad, but coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday he can be “another legitimate pass rusher on campus.”

“This is where it all started for me,” said Ngakoue, who was born in Washington and played at Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School in the city. “I’m a Maryland guy, through and through. Born and raised here. I love the locker room, love the guys here. We have a great quarterback [Lamar Jackson], and I just want to be able to help get the ball back to the offense.”

Ngakoue, who has 69 career sacks in 123 games, had a trying 2023 season with the Chicago Bears. He finished with just four sacks — the fewest of his career — and had one of the NFL’s lowest pass rush win rates before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 14.

Ngakoue visited the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins in July but did not sign with any team during training camp. He said after practice Wednesday that he’s in “great shape” and feels as though he can contribute immediately. Harbaugh said he would “work his way into football shape again and be another piece” of a pass rush that has racked up 10 sacks but struggled to sustain pressure.

Ngakoue’s last game with the Ravens happened to come in the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills, who will come to Baltimore for this week’s “Sunday Night Football” matchup. Ngakoue, whom the team had traded for in October 2020 to boost its pass rush, played just 20 defensive snaps in the 17-3 divisional-round loss, his fewest with the Ravens all season.

“I believe in God, and I believe that everything happens for a reason,” Ngakoue said. “It was meant for me to come back. We went through peaks and valleys, just going to different spots and different places, but I feel like, ultimately, it was meant for me to come back here and to give my best football.”

Ngakoue has deep ties to this Ravens coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr was a defensive analyst on that 2020 team. Ngakoue also played with assistant defensive line and outside linebackers coach Matt Robinson on Maryland’s defense, and he said he goes “way, way back” with pass rush coach Chuck Smith.

After staying up until 11 p.m. Tuesday night to watch film of the Ravens’ past two games, Ngakoue called the defense “a great fit for me.”

“He has a little advantage because he’s been here, right?” Van Noy said. “He knows the building, the people, obviously. ... I feel like there’s a little bit of a positivity that he’s been here before. I think knowing that helps out a lot. ... He’s looking good out there and I think he’s just going to continue to put his head down and work, and if he gets that opportunity, I think he’s going to make the most of it.”