Ravens re-sign veteran DB; injury status of rookie corner revealed

The team is bringing back Daryl Worley and will be without TJ Tampa for a few weeks while he recovers from surgery.

The Baltimore Ravens continued to bolster their defensive backfield at the safety position on Monday by announcing the re-signing of ninth-year veteran defensive back Daryl Worley who was already spotted on the practice field on the second day of training camp.

Worley has appeared in 22 games with the Ravens over the past three seasons including the playoffs dating back to the 2021 season and is the second veteran safety to join the team in the past three days with former two-time Pro Bowler Eddie Jackson being the other.

The Ravens already boasted the best starting safety tandem in the league heading into training with First Team All Pro Kyle Hamilton and ball-hawking free safety Marcus Williams. They now went from having one of the more shallow depth charts behind them to arguably the deepest in a matter of a few days.

“He’s been here a long time, I think he has been a big part of the Ravens here since he got here,” head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “[He’s] a physical presence in the backend, a physical presence on special teams, [is] healthy now… He was excited to get back and we’re excited to have him back.”

Last season was Worley’s first playing safety full-time after making a smooth transition from cornerback where he played for the first seven years of his career after being a former third-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2016 NFL Draft. He appeared in 13 games including the postseason and recorded 12 total tackles, one pass breakup and made two starts.

While Jackson will be playing a vital role on defense, replacing the departed Geno Stone as the third safety in sub-packages, Worley will likely continue to primarily be a key special teams contributor. To make room for him on the roster, the Ravens waived second-year cornerback Tre Swilling.

The addition of both seasoned players at the onset of training camp hurts the odds of undrafted rookie safeties Beau Brade and Jordan Toles making the final 53-man roster barring outstanding performances in practice and preseason games. They also decrease the likelihood of fourth-year pro Ar’Darius Washington carving out a significant role on defense in 2024 barring injury given the improved depth at safety and wealth of slot options on the roster.

In other roster-related news as it pertains to the secondary, according to a report from The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa is recovering from sports hernia surgery he underwent following mandatory minicamp and will be out of commission for a few weeks.

The Ravens selected him with the No. 130 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after Iowa State after he surprisingly fell to Day 3 after being viewed as a potential fringe first-rounder at one point during the pre-draft process. When healthy, he will provide quality depth to what is the deepest cornerback group and secondary as a whole in the entire league.