ExtremeRavens Posted May 13 Posted May 13 The Ravens’ defense has suffered a significant blow. Safety Ar’Darius Washington suffered a torn Achilles tendon during offseason conditioning, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. The injury will likely cause him to miss most if not all of the 2025 season. It also comes after what was a breakout season for the 2020 undrafted free agent out of TCU. Washington, 25, replaced Marcus Williams alongside Kyle Hamilton after the $70 million free agent signing was benched halfway through last season and helped turn around what was a struggling pass defense up to that point. In 17 games (10 starts), the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Washington had two interceptions, 64 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack as Baltimore went from one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses over the first two-plus months of the season to one of its best down the stretch. The injury is also not the first Washington has faced. After playing in three games as a rookie in 2020, Washington suffered a season-ending foot injury. In 2023, he began the season as a starter in the slot and played well the first two weeks of the season, tallying 11 tackles, two pass breakups and a sack. But a chest injury in Week 2 landed him on injured reserve and he didn’t return until the playoffs on special teams. Over his first three seasons, Washington played in just eight games (one start) before stepping in last year and putting together his best season yet. But as a restricted free agent this offseason, the Ravens offered him the lower right-of-first-refusal tender. At $3.3 million, it was worth less than the second-round tender of $5.3 million and the Ravens would not have received draft compensation had he signed an offer sheet with another team and they declined to match it. Washington did not sign an offer sheet with another team, however, and last month signed the one-year tender with Baltimore. His return helped give the Ravens what looked to be one of the better safety rooms in the league, with Hamilton and highly-touted rookie Malaki Starks, whom the Ravens drafted 27th overall last month. Now, Starks’ addition will take on even greater importance with the former Georgia standout expected to start alongside Hamilton. The loss also makes the Ravens thin at the position. After Hamilton and Starks are unproven second-year players Sanoussi Kane, a seventh-round draft pick, and Beau Brade, an undrafted free agent from Maryland. There are at least some veteran free agent options available, including Justin Simmons, Julian Blackmon and former Ravens starter Chuck Clark. With the start of training camp still two months away, there is time for Baltimore to find a replacement. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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