OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- When Devin Hester was released by the Atlanta Falcons in July, seven teams inquired about the four-time Pro Bowl returner.

The Baltimore Ravens ultimately landed Hester because of their track record and system.

"It wasn’t a hard choice to pick the Ravens," Hester said Tuesday after his first practice with the team.

Hester's priority was going to a team that dominated in special teams. He found out Baltimore ranked in the top five the past five years and was No. 1 last season.

It proved to be a bonus that the Dave Toub, his special teams coach with the Bears, worked as a quality control coach for special teams for John Harbaugh in Philadelphia.

"They run the exact same scheme," Hester said.

Hester will return kickoffs and punts for the Ravens against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Harbaugh said. He will handle those roles despite practicing for the first time with Baltimore only five days before the season opener.

"He looks like a player immediately," Harbaugh said. "He's actually in very good shape. He looks like he is ready to play. I'm not worried about him being able to handle the job at all."

Hester, 33, owns the NFL records for most returns for touchdowns (20) and most punt returns for touchdowns (14). He leads the NFL in punt return average (11.7) over the last five seasons.

But Hester was limited to career-low five games last season because of a big toe injury. He had surgery in January, and he realized that patience was going to be the only remedy.

"This was an injury where I felt like time was the only thing that was going to heal it," Hester said. "I did all the treatment I could do and it still wasn’t the way I wanted it to be. At the end of the day we just realized, time heals everything.”

The Ravens were hoping that their returner would come from the training camp battle between Michael Campanaro and Keenan Reynolds. But it became apparent early on that Baltimore had to consider other options.

Baltimore was among the teams who contacted Hester one week after he was released in July. Now, the Ravens are banking on Hester to provide that spark that was missing from the return game all preseason.

“A returner, I feel, is all about experience," Hester said. "Everybody out here can run fast, can make guys miss. I feel when you’re back there, you have to be able to manage the game, you have to make the right decisions, pick up small instances of just repetition. I put a lot of time in it from the return standpoint. I feel like I can come here right away and contribute.”