The injury bug has already bitten the Baltimore Ravens.
An MRI has confirmed that safety Ar'Darius Washington has torn his Achilles, which occurred during conditioning drills.
The Ravens have an excellent duo of safeties in All-Pro Kyle Hamilton and 2025 first-round pick Malaki Starks, but Washington was great depth and a special teams contributor. Washington has been plagued by injuries throughout his four-year NFL career, as a foot injury prematurely ended his rookie season, and a chest injury cost him most of the 2023 season.
He was able to stay healthy in 2024, and had a breakout year with 64 total tackles, eight passes defensed, two interceptions, one sack and one forced fumble in 10 starts. The Ravens placed the exclusive rights tender on Washington earlier this offseason, which he signed for one year worth $3.263 million.
Baltimore signed Washington as an undrafted free agent in 2021. One potential silver lining in this unfortunate situation is that there could be a sliver of hope that he's able to play towards the end of the season in 2025, or perhaps in the postseason should the Ravens make it.
In the meantime, Baltimore will lean even more on Hamilton and Starks. Behind them are Sanoussi Kane, Beau Brade and Desmond Igbinosun. The Ravens could look to add another safety through the free agent market, as A to Z Sports' own Wendell Ferreira pegged Julian Blackmon as a perfect fit for their secondary.
