Ravens expect Ar’Darius Washington to have a ‘big year’ with health concerns in the past

The former undrafted free agent is “fulfilling” what the team envisioned and hoped he’d become heading into 2024.

The best way for a player in the NFL who enters training camp on the roster bubble without much job security is to prove they are too good to be cut. Doing so requires being consistent in practice, stacking days of solid performances, flashing playmaking ability, standing out in games and most importantly, staying on the field because the best ability will always be availability in a hard cap league.

Baltimore Ravens fourth-year defensive back Ar’Darius Washington had shown all but one of the desirable traits listed above except the last and most important. After making the team as an undrafted free agent out of TCU in 2021, injuries have limited him to three or fewer games in each of his first three seasons in the league but when he has been healthy, he has looked like a player capable of having a profound impact on both defense and special teams.

Heading into his fourth training camp, he was viewed by many as firmly on the roster bubble. However, with how well he has performed in practice on a consistent basis, played in the preseason opener and is seemingly the only defensive back on the team who hasn’t been limited by any ailments to date—he appears to finally be putting it all together.

“It’s funny, Ar’Darius and I had a conversation today in my office, and it was a good one,” head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “He wasn’t called into the principal’s office; it was just to kind of talk about his vision for the season and what he thought he could accomplish. He’s playing at a high level; you saw it today. He’s playing both safety positions, [and] he’s playing the nickel. And he can play either corner outside, if he had to, to get you out of a game, and he can go in a dime if he had to – he knows the defense that well. His style is pretty much patented, that’s his style [and] the way he plays. I think it’s a style worthy of emulating, so [I’m] very glad he’s on our team.”

Despite being one of the smallest players on the team at 5-foot-8 and 177 pounds, Washington regularly makes impressive plays on the ball to prevent completions to targets who would tower over him if standing side by side. He is also one of the most physical players on the entire team on either side of the ball and who arguably the toughest pound-for-pound.

“He is playing very well, and I’ll just tell you this – it’s great to have him out there; he’s been hurt a couple of years, and he’s not [now], he’s healthy,” Harbaugh said. “He’s fulfilling what we’ve always hoped he would do, and I really expect him to have a big year, and I think he’s going to play good football for us. It’s a big deal.”

Even though Washington plays in a secondary that features players with huge condor-like wingspans such as All Pro Safety Kyle Hamilton, he fits right in because of his blend of physicality and positional versatility. His ability to play both safety and nickel gives the Ravens even more of schematic flexibility that made them the most dangerous, productive, disruptive and unpredictable unit in the league last season from down to down.

It appeared as if 2023 was destined to finally be his breakout through the first couple of games before the injury bug struck again. He had just come off a training camp where he stayed healthy and ran away with the starting nickel for whenever Hamilton wasn’t being deployed in his patented hybrid slot safety role. In just two games, he racked up for total tackles (11) than his previous six games combined (three) including his first career tackle for loss, two pass breakups, two quarterback hits and a sack.

“‘A.D.’ was great for us last year before he got hurt, and he’s going to continue to get better and better and better,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Tuesday. “He plays all over the secondary. He’s a scrappy guy, he’s explosive, he’s a takeaway machine. I can sit up here and talk to you all day about ‘A.D.’ – we love him. It’s great to see him healthy, it’s great to see him having a great camp, and he’s going to do great things for us this year.”

Washington was already earning more reps with the first team reps prior to veteran Arthur Maulet having to undergo an arthroscopic knee scope that put him out of commission for the time being. Both he and third-year nickel Damarion ‘Pepe’ Williams have been taking full advantage of the extra opportunities to showcase their improved health and skills.

Despite the Ravens’ secondary being as deep as it is at both safety and corner, if Washington keeps stacking and stays healthy, Orr will have no choice but to find a consistent role for him on defense. Leaving him on the bench or relegating him to a primary special teams contributor would be a waste of one of the many dangerous playmakers at his disposal.