Ar'Darius Washington (born November 2, 1999) is an American professional football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs.
Early life
Washington attended Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was a star cornerback for the Eagles. Prior to his senior season, he committed to play college football at LSU, but eventually switched his commitment to play at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.[1]
College career
As a true freshman at TCU in 2018, Washington transitioned to safety and played in four games for the TCU Horned Frogs to preserve his redshirt. He enjoyed a breakout season as a redshirt freshman in 2019, becoming a starter late in the year and led the team with five interceptions - the most by any freshman under coach Gary Patterson in his tenure at TCU.[2] After the season, he was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.[3] and a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.[4]
Prior to Washington's sophomore season in 2020, he was named to the All-Texas College Team by Dave Campbell's Texas Football,[5] as one of the top returning players in the Big 12 by ESPN[6] and as the nation's second-leading returning safety behind his teammate Trevon Moehrig by Pro Football Focus.[7] Additionally, he was projected as a first-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft by CBS Sports.[8]
On December 29, 2020, Washington announced that he would forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility by declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft.[9]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1.73 m) |
176 lb (80 kg) |
29+1⁄4 in (0.74 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.61 s | 1.62 s | 2.66 s | 4.10 s | 7.06 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) |
17 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[10][11] | ||||||||||||
2021–2023
Washington signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2021.[12][13] On November 27, 2021, Washington suffered a season-ending foot injury and was placed on injured reserve.[14]
On August 30, 2022, Washington was waived by the Ravens and signed to the practice squad the next day.[15][16] On December 11, in Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington made his first two solo tackles.[17] He was signed to the active roster on January 14, 2023.[18]
Washington was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2023, after suffering a chest injury in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.[19] He was activated off IR on January 10, 2024.[20][21]
2024
Washington started the 2024 season mainly on special teams, but his role on defense quickly increased after the poor play of Eddie Jackson and Marcus Williams caused the Ravens to have one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL to start the season. Washington was given the starting role for Week 8's game against the Cleveland Browns; the move ended up upgrading the safety position so significantly that he was given the starting job for the rest of the season.[22] Both Williams and Jackson were benched with the latter being subsequently waived and the former being inactive for the final five games of the season.[23] In Week 9, Washington recorded his first career interception off of Bo Nix in a 41–10 blowout win over the Denver Broncos.[24] He recorded his second career interception in the waning moment of the Ravens' Week 15 35–14 rout of the New York Giants.[25] The following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington forced a fumble by Russell Wilson, which was recovered Kyle Van Noy. The turnover, which came early in the second quarter of a 7–7 tie game with the Steelers driving into the redzone, proved to be crucial as it swung the momentum back to Ravens in what would be a 34–17 win.[26] He finished the season with career-highs in essentially every category.[25]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2021 | BAL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | BAL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | BAL | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | BAL | 16 | 9 | 60 | 43 | 17 | 1.0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 24 | 10 | 74 | 51 | 23 | 2.0 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ Watson, Jimmy (February 6, 2018). "Evangel's Ar'Darius Washington makes college decision". Shreveport Times. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ McGalliard, Grant (March 4, 2020). "2020 Horned Frogs have a secondary full of stars". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "2019 All-Big 12 Football Honors Announced". big12sports.com. December 4, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Richardson, Steve (January 13, 2020). "2019 FWAA Freshman All-America Team Announced". FWAA. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "DCTF announces 2020 Preseason All-Texas College Teams". TexasFootball.com. June 10, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Dave; Bonagura, Kyle (September 11, 2020). "Ranking the Big 12's 25 best college football players for 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Clark, Jeremy (May 24, 2020). "Moehrig named Pro Football Focus top returning college safety". 247Sports.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Gates, Riley (September 22, 2020). "CBS Sports' 2021 NFL Mock Draft". 247Sports.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Charean (December 30, 2020). "TCU safety Ar'Darius Washington declares for NFL draft". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ "2021 NFL Draft Scout Ar'Darius Washington College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- ^ "Ar'Darius Washington 2021 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- ^ Eck, Kevin (May 4, 2021). "Late for Work 5/4: Ravens Landed Top Undrafted Free-Agent Signing". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (May 13, 2021). "Ravens Announce Nine Undrafted Rookie Signings". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (November 27, 2021). "Malik Harrison Activated From Injured Reserve". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (August 30, 2022). "Ravens Make Roster Cuts to 53". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (August 31, 2022). "Ravens Set Initial Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers - December 11th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (January 14, 2023). "Ravens Make Four Roster Moves Before Playoff Game in Cincinnati". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (September 19, 2023). "Ravens Place Ar'Darius Washington on Injured Reserve". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- ^ "Melvin Gordon: Waived by Ravens". CBSSports.com. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ "NFL news roundup: Latest league updates from Friday, Jan. 19". NFL.com. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "Ar'Darius Washington has become a stabilizing presence in Ravens secondary". Ravens Wire. December 17, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (November 23, 2024). "Ravens Waive Safety Eddie Jackson". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Erby, Glenn (December 17, 2024). "Ar'Darius Washington has become a stabilizing presence in Ravens secondary". Ravens Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "Ar'Darius Washington 2024 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
- ^ "Ravens 34-17 Steelers (Dec 21, 2024) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2025.