Ravens 2024 position review: Safeties

Breaking down the individual seasons of every player who played meaningful snaps this past year.

With the 2024 season officially in the books and the start of the new league year less than a month away, it’s the perfect time to review the Baltimore Ravens one position group at a time before completely turning the page forward to gearing up for 2025.

In the next installment of this article series, the safeties are up after a year in which they had to limit their most versatile player, bench their highest-paid player and elevate an unheralded talent to stabilize the secondary.

---

Kyle Hamilton

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

Coming off a breakout 2023 campaign in which he earned Pro Bowl and First Team All Pro honors, expectations for Hamilton heading into 2024 were high and he not only lived up to them in many ways but exceeded them. Consistent breakdowns and lapses in coverage as a result of miscommunication and poor execution resulted in him transitioning into more of a traditional safety instead of the hybrid nickel that made him a budding star.

Hamilton proved that despite not being allowed to wreak havoc in the box and around the line of scrimmage as often, he could still be a disruptive and impactful presence. He earned his second straight Pro Bowl nod and Second Team AP All Pro honors after appearing in every game and recording a career-high 107 total tackles including four for a loss, two sacks, six quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, nine pass breakups and one interception.

Ar’Darius Washington

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

After being plagued with injuries in his first three seasons in the league, the 2021 undrafted defensive back stayed healthy and when he finally got his chance to play in a prominent role, he made the absolute most of it. His insertion into the starting lineup starting in Week 11 played just as big of a role in the incredible 180 turnaround of the Ravens’ pass defense from the league’s worst to best as Hamilton’s transition to playing more deep safety.

Washington’s communication, physicality and instincts were all excellent and it didn’t take him long to go from a stabilizing force to emerging as a playmaker for the Ravens defense as he made clutch plays to force stops and/or turnovers on a weekly basis. He played in every game for the first time and set career highs across the board with 64 total tackles including five for a loss, two quarterback hits, a sack, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Marcus Williams

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

While injuries hampered the once prized veteran free agent signing during his first two seasons in Baltimore, his third was marred by mistakes and flat-out underperformance which led to him getting replaced by Washington in the starting lineup. The large part he played in the Ravens’ consistent lapses in coverage through the first 10 weeks of the season led to his first benching in Week 8. It was followed by a permanent regulation to a regular inactive starting in Week 13 and he didn’t play another snap in the regular or postseason. Williams’ final season with the Ravens saw him appear in 11 games, make nine starts and record 33 total tackles including one for a loss, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups.

Eddie Jackson

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images

The Ravens brought in the former two-time Pro Bowler during training with the hope that he’d fill the role in their secondary vacated by the departure of Geno Stone in free agency last March after leading the AFC with a career-high seven interceptions. Given his previously renowned prowess as a ballhawk with 15 career interceptions, it seemed like a perfect fit on paper.

Unfortunately, their vision for him never came to fruition and Jackson’s performance on the field fell well short of expectations. He became disgruntled and was eventually granted his release. Not only did he record just one pass breakup in 339 defensive snaps but he didn’t notch a single interception despite having two prime opportunities that could’ve prevented one of the Ravens’ biggest upsets of the regular season in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns. Jackson appeared in nine games, made four starts and recorded 30 total tackles including one for a loss and a quarterback hit.

Sanoussi Kane

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

It didn’t take the seventh-round rookie long to make an impression and carve out the role he would play in his first season as a primary special team contributor. He made two excellent form tackles on a pair of punts in the preseason opener without giving up a single yard to the returner and quickly established himself as one of the best and most consistent players on the team in the phase of the game.

Kane served as the personal protector for punter Jordan Stout, covered and blocked kicks and punts and helped down some punts inside the opposing 20-yard line. The action he saw on defense came in a combined 22 snaps at the end of blowout games while he was on the field of 325 special teams snaps. Kane missed a couple of games with minor injuries but appeared in 17 including the playoffs and recorded nine total tackles including five solos.

Beau Brade

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

The Maryland product also made a strong impression during the preseason except his highlight plays came on defense. However, there wasn’t a role for him outside of special teams so even though he was the only undrafted rookie to make the final roster, he was inactive for six of the first seven games and made just 11 total appearances. Brade also saw minimal playing time on defense with just 11 compared to 207 on special teams and recorded three total tackles including one solo.