Ar'Darius Washington Finally Re-Signs With Ravens

The Ravens placed a right-of-first-refusal tender worth $3.3 million on Washington on March 12. Essentially, the tender was a one-year contract that still allowed Washington to speak with other teams, but if any team signed him to an offer sheet, the Ravens would have the chance to match that offer and keep him.

It was actually slightly risky for the Ravens to do this. If they had used a second-round tender — a more valuable tender that would also net the Ravens a second-round pick if he had left — on Washington, they could've deterred almost all outside interest.

The risk paid off, though, as Washington did not sign an offer sheet before Friday's deadline. That meant he was definitely playing for the Ravens in 2025, he just had to put pen to paper.

A former undrafted free agent out of TCU, Washington only played eight games in his first three seasons but broke out in a big way last season. The 25-year-old started the final 10 games of the season, recording 64 total tackles, eight passes defended, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

He was a key piece of the Ravens' defensive turnaround, as after he replaced Marcus Williams in the starting lineup, the defense went from one of the league's worst against the pass to one of the best.

Washington is currently set to start opposite of Kyle Hamilton again, and even if the Ravens add to their safety group at this week's NFL Draft, Washington will be a key player once more next season.