Ravens S Ar’Darius Washington Aiming For Late-Season Return

Ar’Darius Washington‘s availability for the 2025 campaign was dealt a major blow recently when he suffered an Achilles tear. The four-year Ravens safety aims to be able to play at some point this season, though.

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, head coach John Harbaugh said (via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec) Washington suffered a clean Achilles tear. Surgery has already taken place, and the lengthy rehab process associated with the injury has begun as a result. Harbaugh added that Washington hopes to return to action in November or December.

Given the nature of Achilles tears and their associated recovery timelines, it would come as little surprise if the former UDFA were to be sidelined for the entire campaign. Getting Washington back in any capacity in time for the stretch run and/or the postseason would of course be a welcomed development for the Ravens. Midway through the 2024 season, adjustments on defense resulted in him taking on a full-time starting role.

Taking over from Marcus Williams, Washington appeared in every game last year and made 11 total starts. His 727 regular season snaps on defense came after he totaled just 145 over the course of his first three years in the league. The 25-year-old helped stabilize a struggling Baltimore pass defense when on the field, recording a pair of interceptions and eight pass deflections. Washington was retained via an RFA tender this offseason.

That move set him up to remain a key member of the Ravens’ secondary for one more year before landing a notable deal on the open market next spring. Instead, much of the coming campaign will be focused on rehabbing his injury; any playing time in 2025 would obviously help to rebuild his free agent value to an extent. At least a rotational role should be in store whenever the TCU product is back to full health.

The Ravens still have All-Pro Kyle Hamilton in place at the safety spot, but veteran Eddie Jackson was released midway through last season and Williams was cut in March. Those moves, while expected, created a notable vacancy at the position in advance of the draft. The team’s first pick was used on Malaki Starks, and the Georgia product is in line to operate as a starter right away with Washington set to miss at least some of the 2025 season. If the latter can return as he hopes, though, Baltimore’s defense will receive a boost during the winter.