They say his time is coming. They’re wrong.
Ravens starting cornerback Brandon Stephens poked his head into an interview Ar’Darius Washington was doing to spread the word.
“His time is now,” Stephens said.
Washington, who is competing for the Ravens’ third safety spot in his fourth NFL season, was already having a strong camp. The day after Stephens made that statement, Washington backed it up with a pick-six on backup quarterback Josh Johnson. The day after that, Washington intercepted reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. The next week, he made all the fans gasp as he beat Nelson Agholor to a jump ball for a huge pass breakup.
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, the situation at safety seemed pretty clear. Marcus Williams and Pro Bowler Kyle Hamilton were the expected starters. Washington was the only other safety on the roster. The biggest question was what Washington would look like after serious in two seasons cost him significant playing time.
The Ravens added one safety, Sanoussi Kane, in the seventh round of the 2024 draft. They also signed undrafted rookie free agent Beau Brade. And then, following a mini camp where coach John Harbaugh commended Washington’s play, they signed veteran safety Eddie Jackson.
Suddenly, there is competition for the third safety job.
But Washington is no stranger to challenge, and he hasn’t let it slow him down.
Get to know the player who could be the next up in a formidable Ravens defense.
He’s always been the shortest
Washington can’t think of a time he played on a team and wasn’t the shortest guy at his position. His mom, LaShuma Daniels, can’t either.
“He was always one of the little, small guys,” Daniels said.
On the Ravens training camp roster, only one player, wide receiver Deonte Harty, is shorter than Washington’s 5-foot-8. Running back Keaton Mitchell matches Washington’s height, although he’s got a bulkier frame. Unlike the offensive positions, Washington isn’t running away from contact, but initiating it.
Washington has never let that stop him. Daniels said he’s the youngest with three older brothers and an older sister. Washington ran with his big brothers — and he tackled them, too. His oldest brother grew up to be 6-foot-1. Despite his height, weight and age, Washington found ways to stop them.
So taking down bigger players in his own age group was not a problem.
The doubt that always accompanies smaller players’ careers created a chip on Washington’s shoulder. That chip, which gave his play an edge, was critical to helping him ascend to each level of football.
No team wanted to risk draft capital on him
Much of a front office’s success lies in its ability to identify and evaluate talent. In 2021, no team was confident enough in Washington to risk any of their draft capital on him.
An NFL agent’s success lies in his ability to identify and evaluate talent. The better the players you sign, the more money you make.
Rick Roberts, an agent who started the Ballengee Group, is from Louisiana and knew about Washington through word on the streets of Louisiana. He was highly recruited and had an offer from the hometown team, LSU. But Washington decided TCU was the place for him, and it just so happens Ballengee Group decided to make its base in Texas.
Roberts saw Washington’s stats. As a junior, Washington had 35 tackles with five interceptions and two pass breakups. As a senior, he had 25 tackles and five pass breakups. But he also saw something in the player himself that led to them wanting to sign him.
“It sounds cliché when they say certain guys have got that dawg in them, but he’s got that dawg,” Roberts said. “He plays the game at such a high intensity. He works out at that intensity. And everything he does that’s in preparation for football is at 100%.”
Patrick Queen had a big role in his journey
Growing up in Louisiana, Washington and former Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Queen knew about each other for a similar reason Roberts knew who Washington was. They were both highly recruited players in the area, although one accepted the offer from the local university, LSU, and one didn’t. They both decided to sign with fellow Louisiana native Roberts.
When it became evident that Washington wasn’t going to be drafted, Roberts and his team had to pivot to their contingency plan for Washington: finding a place for him to land as an undrafted free agent. Having gotten to know Washington and Queen as players and people, Roberts had a feeling Baltimore would be a good fit for Washington based on Queen’s experience. So he connected the two players.
Roberts was right. Queen and Washington hit it off, and Washington found a home. He made the 53-man roster out of camp over players who were drafted. He suffered an unfortunate season-ending injury off the bat, but Queen helped him keep his head up. When he came back in his second year, he was cut before being signed to the practice squad. Again, Queen supported him, Daniels recalled.
“He played a big brother role,” said Ballengee Group agent Chris Doyle. “He took him under his wing, and he played a big part, I think, in the whole process, getting the team to pay attention to him, telling them ‘Hey, this guy is special.’”
He played through a serious injury
When Washington felt the pull in his upper body in Week 2 last year, he didn’t think much of it. He thought it was just a shoulder stinger, so he kept playing through the 27-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He didn’t think it was that serious, but he also was in denial.
There’s no way he made the team twice as an undrafted free agent only to be injured. Especially considering he started the season with a bang, recording six tackles, a sack and a pass defense in his first game, and five tackles and a pass defense in the second game.
“Once I got the MRI and everything, I kind of dropped a tear,” Washington said. “Because everything’s going good. Everything’s going right, and then this happens. So then you kind of question everything, like, why now?”
His first call was, of course, to his mom. His news that he had suffered a season-ending chest injury made her heart sad, she said.
“I knew that he was just getting started,” Daniels said. “I was devastated. I was. Because he really trained hard in the offseason, and for him to just be getting his name out there, getting some playing time, everything looking up for him, it was devastating.”
Washington did make it back for the postseason in 2023 but filled a limited role on special teams in Baltimore’s two games. He played two defensive snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded a tackle assist.
Almost a year later, Daniels saw a video on X of her son making an interception at Ravens training camp and doing his signature flip. This time, her heart smiled.
He’s got some skill in the ring
Football may be his love, but Washington is an all-around athlete. Daniels said Washington was always doing backflips and jumping off things, so she put him in gymnastics, as well as a variety of other sports.
Eventually, Washington narrowed his focus to football. And then football brought him to boxing.
At the Ballengee Group, players are invited to step into the ring with Doyle. The agent has boxed for much of his life, including in professional competitions. He’s continued to use those skills to help train his athletes in the offseason.
“Boxing does have a lot of positives when it comes to transitioning to football, such as, for one conditioning, but hand-eye coordination, just getting stronger,” Doyle said.
Washington felt like the invitation to box was a rite of passage. So he stepped into the ring.
Doyle said both Washington and Queen are natural athletes, so they’re strong and fast. He said they do great. And by that he means: “They make it through the rounds.”
He doesn’t like pizza
Maybe she fed it to him too much as a child, Daniels speculated, but for whatever reason, Washington does not like pizza.
He insists it’s something about the texture. Or maybe it’s because he hates condiments, and it reminds him of ketchup.
Is he picky?
Washington paused for a second and then admitted with a grin, “Yeah.”
So what does he eat?
Washington’s favorite food is seafood, especially crawfish. But like Queen, he’s uncertain about eating seafood outside Louisiana since they’ve got the “best seafood in the world.”
Why should you root for him?
“Because he’s a hard worker, and he loves football. He just continues to strive for his dreams,” his mom said.
“Because the journey hasn’t been easy for him, and he’s the story of that underdog that comes in undrafted. … On top of that, Ar’Darius is a great person,” Roberts said.
“What he’s always been is a playmaker, a difference maker. … He’s a guy that’s going to give you 1000%, not 100. He’ll give you 1000% each play. And as a person, he’ll always give back to that city,” Doyle said.
And according to the man himself? Well, because he’s ready to put on a show for you all. For the city, but for one particular group, as well.
“I’m gonna go out there and put on for the little guys and show them that we can do this, too,” Washington said.
