The Ravens have used a low restricted free-agent tender on safety Ar’Darius Washington, who became a key cog in their secondary over the last half of the 2024 season.
The right-of-first-refusal tender is essentially a salary of $3.26 million, fully charged to the 2025 cap. As a restricted free agent, Washington is still free to negotiate with other teams, but the tender allows the Ravens to match any offer. If they opt against matching any offer, Washington would be signed by the other team. Because Washington was undrafted, the Ravens would get no draft-pick compensation with the low tender.
The Ravens could have used a second-round tender on Washington, and they would have received a second-round draft pick if he were signed away, but that would be worth roughly $5.3 million. The Ravens essentially are rewarding Washington with a nice raise while also trying to retain as much cap space as possible for other moves.
Washington, 25, helped solidify the Ravens secondary when he replaced veteran Marcus Williams as a starting safety midway through the season. Playing alongside Kyle Hamilton, Washington finished the season with 62 tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defensed in by far the most extensive action of his career.
The Ravens’ secondary struggled mightily early in 2024, and for much of the first half of the season the team ranked last in the league in pass defense. The Ravens ultimately benched Williams, moved Hamilton back to deep safety after playing him closer to the line of scrimmage early in the year, and inserted Washington as a starter.
The improvement was immediate, and the Ravens went from one of the league’s worst pass defenses in the first half of the season to one of the best in the second half of the season.
The Ravens finished 12-5 and won the AFC North for the second straight season before losing to the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Just 5-8 and 180 pounds, Washington is nonetheless a physical thumper, and his goal-line hit on Houston’s Joe Mixon on fourth down set the tone for what proved to be 31-2 Ravens rout on Christmas Day. A week earlier, Washington had upended Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson near the goal line to force a critical fumble in what became a 34-17 Ravens win.
Washington’s size clearly dissuaded some scouts, but the Ravens signed the TCU product as one of their top undrafted free agents in 2021. He lost much of his rookie season and most of the 2023 season to injuries, and each summer, Washington has come to training camp squarely on the roster bubble.
“I think he’s had probably one of the hardest roles,” Marlon Humphrey said late in the season. “He’s had to make the team every year in training camp. But you ask anybody around here who’s had the best camp for three years, it’s probably AD.”
Coach John Harbaugh said of Washington: “He’s always been one of those guys that, ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.’ … He’s always had that fight. Really, it’s been injuries that’s set him back over the years. For him to be healthy now, and to get a chance to get in there and show what he can do, it’s been great to see.”
Washington’s roster status for 2025 should be secure this training camp, but he could have to compete for his starting spot. Beyond Hamilton and Washington, the Ravens have little depth at safety — Sanoussi Kane and Maryland product Beau Brade playing just a handful of snaps as rookies in 2024 – and they are likely to bolster the position through free agency of the draft.
As of now, the Ravens have 11 picks in the upcoming draft, beginning with No. 27 overall in the first round. The Ravens have been linked to several safeties early in mock drafts, including Nick Emmanwori of South Carolina, Malaki Starks of Georgia and Xavier Watts, Hamilton’s former teammate at Notre Dame.
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