Chris Carr could embrace being a Raider, and he enjoyed his time as a Titan. But in his heart of hearts, playing in the Ravens' vaunted defense was a deal he could not turn down last offseason.

Carr, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract in March, comes full circle Sunday, when the Ravens try to clinch an AFC wild-card slot at Oakland against his old team, the Raiders. Carr spent the first three years of his NFL career in Oakland before signing with the Tennessee Titans in 2008 as a restricted free agent.

When Carr became an unrestricted free agent before this season, he had his choice of a number of teams - the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Titans among them. But when the Ravens offered him a chance to play in their nickel defense as well as return kicks, his itinerary was set.

"I thought it would be so cool to play defense with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis," Carr said. "Fabian [Washington] is one of my good friends from Oakland, and I had [Ravens secondary coach Chuck] Pagano there, too. ... I always wanted to play for the Ravens since I got to the NFL. It's their style; there's no better team to go to. It was hard leaving Tennessee, but I felt long term I could do more things here."

Carr, 26, was a hot commodity after elevating a weak Tennessee kick-return team to the top of the NFL a year ago. Partly out of necessity, the Ravens found out that he is capable in the secondary as well. When they restocked the roster at cornerback in the offseason, they penciled him in for their nickel defense.

Ironically, while Carr surrendered his kick-return job to Lardarius Webb in October, his role on defense has increased through the season. In the wake of season-ending injuries to Washington and Webb, Carr has played left cornerback in the base defense and in the slot on nickel.

"He can go outside [at corner] and be effective or he can go inside," Pagano said. "He's got such a great understanding of the defense at this point. Things happen a lot faster inside than they do outside. When you start mixing in a bunch of coverages and the offensive route combinations they throw at you, he's spent enough time in there that he understands the position. He gives you a comfort zone in there."

Despite his slight, 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame, Carr has never missed a game in five years in the NFL, covering 79 regular-season games. As with most players in the secondary, he has had his share of pass-interference or illegal-contact penalties. Along with the rest of the secondary, he has played well down the stretch.

He has created four turnovers (two interceptions, two forced fumbles) and 1.5 sacks, and he delivered eight solo tackles in the Week 16 loss at Pittsburgh. He continues to return punts for the Ravens.

"He's really a smart guy, a great preparation guy," Pagano said. "In Oakland, he played corner, nickel and safety for us."

Carr was an all-state high school running back in Reno, Nev. College recruiters wanted him to play receiver at the next level, but he figured he was too small for that position as well as running back. So he became a cornerback at Boise State before the Broncos gained their rich reputation.

Undrafted, he signed with the Raiders and slowly worked his way onto the field. After being a part of only 13 wins in three years, Carr was ready to move on.

"It was tough because the losing and all the craziness that went around there would just drive you crazy," he said. "But it was hard leaving because I loved living in California. All my family's from there. I loved all my teammates, I had great coaches.

"But] I really wanted to leave that situation because I felt like I would have a better situation somewhere else."

Pagano's relationship with Carr in Oakland ultimately led to the Ravens' pursuing him.

"I said I'd love to have him here because I know what you're getting," Pagano said. "He's a Raven. Part of being a Raven is, does he love football? [He has a] work ethic, toughness, intelligence. He's a team guy, a great locker room guy. He had all that. And the expectations in our defensive room are off the charts. I knew the type of kid he was, I knew he could handle that, too. I knew he'd come in and work his tail off."

RAVENS @RAIDERS Sunday, 4:15 p.m.

TV: Chs. 13, 9 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 10 1/2