A depleted Ravens secondary that ranks last in the NFL defending the pass has even more personnel intrigue: Ar’Darius Washington started at safety in place of Marcus Williams on Sunday.
Williams had started all seven games at safety, ranking sixth on the Ravens in tackles (25) with two pass deflections and a fumble recovery. But he’s struggled this year along with the secondary, ranking 76th among safeties with a 46.8 grade in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. The 28-year-old Williams, who signed a five-year, $70 million free agent deal in 2022, had played 98% of the defensive snaps to begin the season but remained on the sideline without a helmet during each of the Cleveland Browns’ first few offensive drives.
Washington, a 2021 undrafted free agent, has been a limited contributor, playing 31% of the defensive snaps entering Sunday. He missed most of last season with a chest injury suffered in Week 2. A healthy Washington logged a pass deflection against the Kansas City Chiefs and a season-high six tackles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. He’s starting next to Kyle Hamilton — who salvaged Baltimore’s slow start with a strip-sack late in the second quarter that led to a touchdown and 10-6 halftime lead — as the Ravens chase a sixth straight win.
Baltimore’s defense is already without Marlon Humphrey (knee) and Nate Wiggins (shoulder/illness) at cornerback. Outside linebacker David Ojabo, a 2022 second-round draft pick, was also a healthy scratch. The secondary has been a contentious area for a defense trying to live up to its league-leading group from a year ago.
In Cleveland, the Ravens are facing a quarterback in Jameis Winston making his first start since 2022 with play-calling duties having been handed off from coach Kevin Stefanski to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this week.
“We’re kind of looking at it as a blessing in disguise, because what we’ve trying to preach the last couple weeks is we obviously have got to know our opponent, know the personnel to have the best plan to defeat them, but it’s really about us and our rules and our fundamentals and playing that,” first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “So, obviously, they’ve got a quarterback who you don’t have much film on this year, with these type of players, in this system, and you’ve got a new play-caller, who hasn’t called plays with this personnel, so it’s definitely going to be a little bit of unknown, but that just makes us focus on our job even more.”
Ravens defensive lineman Brent Urban was also ruled out with a concussion in the second quarter. The decade-long veteran has played in five games this season, lining up for 26% of the defensive snaps.
Defensive tackle Michael Pierce also exited in the second quarter with a calf injury. He walked off the field with trainers but was later ruled out for the game.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.
Originally Published:
