The Baltimore Ravens announced a pair of transactions on Thursday, with the most notable being the official signing of second-round outside linebacker Mike Green, which finally gets their entire rookie class under contract. The second move was the placement of fifth-year veteran safety Ar'Darius Washington on the active/physically unable to perform list.
Washington is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he broke out in the second half of the season and helped stabilize what was the worst pass defense in the league through the first 10 weeks. Even though the Ravens used their first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on former standout Georgia safety Malaki Starks, the former undrafted gem was still slated to play a large role on defense in 2025.
Unfortunately, Washington suffered a torn Achilles tendon while conditioning in early May and isn't slated to return until November at the earliest, which will keep him out of commission for the first half of the season. The move to place him on the PUP list was both expected and a formality, as he still has months of rehab ahead of him and won't take up a roster spot in the meantime, since he'll also open the season on the list.
During his absence, the Ravens are poised to turn to one of their young in-house options to fill the void left at the third safety role and will be leaning on Starks more heavily earlier than they had originally anticipated. The top candidates to serve in the vital role in the team's defense include 2024 seventh-rounder Sanoussi Kane, 2024 undrafted free agent Beau Brade and fourth-year pro Jalyn Armour-Davis, who is transitioning from playing outside cornerback full-time to a more versatile role.
There is still a chance that the Ravens could bring in a veteran free agent between now and the start of the regular season. However, recent history suggests that they are better off letting their young internal players get an extended opportunity to fill key positions.
