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With mini camps wrapping up on Thursday, June 13, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked to give an assessment on some of his players. One player in particular was safety Ar’Darius Washington, and Harbaugh had nothing but good things to say about the backup safety.
When asked about the safety Harbaugh said, “Ar’Darius has looked really good. I feel great about him.” Washington exceled during mini-camp, and it seems he caught the eye of his head coach as the team heads into the break prior to the start of training camp.
Harbaugh said, “He’s already established himself. I mean you know he’s played in the games, every game he’s played in, he’s played well.”
The Ravens defense lost Geno Stone this offseason to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, so there will be a multitude of snaps available at the position up for grabs.
“He’s looked great in practice, and let’s get him out there, and get him in some more games. That’s the goal,” Harbaugh told reporters.
Washington must translate his practice appearances and skills onto the field though as the fourth-year player has only been in eight games to this point of his career.
The Ravens defensive backs group could be one of the best in the league if Washington is able to breakout in a similar way that Stone did in his fourth season.
Ar’Darius Washington Has yet to Show up on Field
Washington has the skillset to make it in the NFL, evidenced by the fact that he has stuck onto the roster for three seasons. However, he must start making contributions on the field if he hopes to stick around.
Washington went undrafted during the 2021 NFL draft out of Texas Christian University (TCU) but was picked up by the Ravens in May as an undrafted free agent.
The TCU product has been on-and-off the Ravens’ practice squad for the last three seasons but has yet to make a significant impact on the field.
In three seasons, he has only played in eight games and started in one. If you look at his first two seasons, he appeared in 6 games but only had 3 combined tackles over 32 defensive snaps.
In 2023, he played in two games, but his playing time drastically increased to 113 defensive snaps where he had 11 combined tackles, 2 passes defended, 1.0 sack and 2 QB hits.
Washington made the team coming out of camp and got off to a solid start in his two games against the Houston Texans and the Bengals. Unfortunately, he suffered a pectoral injury that knocked him out for the remainer of the 2023 season.
The Ravens resigned the 24-year-old in March on a 1-year, $985k contract, giving the safety a chance to make an impact and earn a larger payday.
Ravens Safety Position Provides Potential Opportunity
Washington is in a unique position heading into this season as he has the chance to make a high impact on Baltimore’s defense for 2024.
USA Today Ravens Wire writer Paul Banks covered Harbaugh’s comments on Washington and wrote, “While safety is one of the team’s strongest positions, there isn’t a whole lot of depth behind the starters.”
Safeties Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton form one of the strongest tandems at the position in the NFL but there are injury concerns heading into the season.
Washington backs up Williams now that Stone is no longer part of the team and Banks wrote, “Barring injury, Washington has his work cut out for him to earn playing time.”
Williams dealt with injuries for most of the 2023 season, but the Ravens are hopeful he has gotten past the issue and Hamilton suffered an injury in the offseason but should be back for training camp.
If Washington continues his strong play into camp, he could earn himself significant playing time on a top defense.
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