For a position group with as many twists and turns as the Ravens’ secondary, be it personnel or on-field production, there was plenty for general manager Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh to parse through in their season-ending news conference.
The Ravens brass ping-ponged answers assessing the disappointment of an early exit while looking forward to what DeCosta called his favorite time of year. The time to find answers.
“I am actually, ironically, looking at a safety upstairs right now in the draft,” DeCosta said.
Harbaugh, sitting to his right, turned to antagonize his boss. “You wanna tell us who that is?” he grinned. DeCosta smiled back, “No, but we’ll look at all the players and we’ll rank the board like we always do. If the best guy is a free safety at that pick then we’ll take him and we’ll be very happy.”
It took 11 weeks for these Ravens to nail down a safety combination that clicked. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr settled on Ar’Darius Washington, a plucky 5-foot-8 undrafted free agent unafraid to stick his nose into oncoming traffic. He was an effective partner to All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, helping spin the defense to a league leader.
Before Washington, who’s set to be a restricted free agent this summer, it was the now-jettisoned Eddie Jackson. Jackson was a training camp pickup who lasted nine games in Baltimore. DeCosta called his November release a “roster decision” and took some onus in looking past the fact that an All-Pro veteran might be vying for a role greater than backup safety and special teamer.
“It was good value for us to get him the way we did,” DeCosta said. “And I think sometimes, if I’m guilty of mistakes, it’s finding value but not always considering how that player is gonna handle the situation he’s being forced into. He just wasn’t happy in his role.”
Before Jackson it was Marcus Williams, whom the Ravens handed a five-year, $70 million contract in 2022 that made him the fourth-highest paid safety in football. Williams was benched by Week 8 and a healthy scratch through the final stretch of the season.
Harbaugh sidestepped any direct reasoning beyond that Williams “faced a lot of adversity that kind of came with production.” The longtime coach praised the 28-year-old veteran for how he handled the situation. Should the Ravens cut Williams before June 1, they would incur a $13.446 million dead cap but create $4.623 million in cap savings, per OverTheCap.
With Williams benched and Jackson out of the building, in stepped Washington to revive a wobbly back end.
“Ar’Darius is a great example of a guy who got a chance and ran with it,” DeCosta said, later adding, “He’s gonna be a restricted free agent this year for us and we’re fortunate that we have him back next year.”
That still leaves Baltimore thin at safety after Hamilton and Washington.
It’s hard to tell what Baltimore has in Day 3 draft pick Sanoussi Kane and undrafted free agent out of the University of Maryland via River Hill High School, Beau Brade. The rookies played 22 and 11 defensive snaps, respectively.
“If we can add another safety, obviously it would be really good for us,” DeCosta said. “It gives us that multiplicity on defense, the ability to do a lot of different things.”
Should they bring in another safety, either in free agency or late April at the NFL Draft, it would likely come with the hope of returning Hamilton from deep safety closer to the line of scrimmage where he’s more of a “jackknife,” DeCosta called him.
When asked inside the visiting locker room at Highmark Stadium after a narrow loss to Buffalo in the AFC divisional round, cornerback Marlon Humphrey said plainly, “This team is done. Obviously, there’s a message to go, but when I look at it, some guys will be here, [and] some guys won’t – who knows what.”
This was after the type of performance that the veteran, who led the AFC in interceptions this season, called “a bad time to kind of revert back to some old ways,” referring to the secondary’s dead-last NFL ranking in pass defense through the first 11 weeks of the season.
Humphrey is entering the final non-guaranteed year of his five-year, $97.5 million deal signed in 2020. After an injury plagued 2023, he returned to All-Pro form this season. DeCosta said, “he’s another guy that we’re very fortunate that we have on a contract next year.”
Like Hamilton and Washington behind them, the Ravens could pair the All-Pro Humphrey next to ascending cornerback Nate Wiggins, who impressed with an interception and forced fumble in his rookie campaign. The Clemson product’s college playing weight was around 160 pounds. He revealed during locker room clean-out that was up to 176 or 178 this season.
“He’s got a very, very bright future because he can do some things that other guys can’t do. And I think eventually, like how far he develops, is really gonna be up to him,” DeCosta said. “His future is unlimited because he can do some things that are very unusual and unique at his position and I can’t wait to see what a good offseason does for him.”
Wiggins would be a natural replacement should the Ravens move on from Brandon Stephens, who will be a free agent this offseason. Pro Football Focus ranked Stephens 101 out of 118 cornerbacks with a coverage grade of 49.4. DeCosta said Wednesday that Stephens’ attitude never wavered despite a down season for the fourth-year pro.
“We’ll have to see what happens with him,” DeCosta said. “He’s probably going to have a chance to test the market and see what his value is, but he’s helped us win a lot of games over the last couple of years. He’s been a big part of our success, and I’m proud of him for that.”
The Ravens’ secondary won’t undergo a total reshuffle this offseason. But even for a group that started slow and took noticeable leaps to end the regular season, there’s bound to be some movement worth watching.
After their 45-minute season-ending news conference, DeCosta walked off stage right. Probably to go look at that safety draft prospect.
Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.
