There are a few key storylines that the Baltimore Ravens will be keeping an eye ahead of the regular season. The center battle and rookie performances are obvious ones, but there are a couple of under-the-radar competitions on the depth chart.
The defensive line has suddenly become one of the more talented rooms on Baltimore’s roster. Maybe stacked isn’t the right word, but there’s a good amount of high-end talent, mixed with veterans, as well as young players with loads of potential.
Looking at what the state of the room has become after this past offseason, one guy who it feels like is on the outside looking in is Broderick Washington. All offseason, there’s been talk of him being a cut candidate, which still could happen. Time may be running out on his tenure in Baltimore.
Baltimore Ravens’ veteran contributor staring down do-or-die roster moment
It’s a tough situation for Broderick Washington to be in. He injured his ankle in Week 3 of the 2025 season, and eventually suffered a setback, which led to an Achilles surgery, causing him to miss the rest of that year. Now, as he works on recovering from that injury, he’s got a new coaching staff to impress. It's unfair, but he's falling behind.
There are many players deep down the depth chart who are in the same situation as Washington. It’s almost like they’re auditioning to even have a chance to make the 53-man roster come time for the regular season. However, Washington’s case is different not just because he's losing ground due to his injury recovery, but because he’s been regressing for a few years now.
Ever since Washington signed a three-year, $17.5 million contract extension back in August 2023, he hasn’t been the same player. As a result, that decision has backfired in the Ravens' faces. The 29-year-old has been nowhere close to what they’ve needed up front, and currently, he’s in serious danger of tumbling all the way to the bottom of Minter’s defensive line plans.
Obviously, Baltimore signed Calais Campbell late in the offseason, who is head and shoulders above Washington, but even the depth could compete with Washington. They drafted Rayshaun Benny in the seventh round, who’s one of Minter’s guys from Michigan, and Aeneas Peebles became a fan favorite last year. If that young duo of Benny and Peebles comes out firing in camp, Washington could be in big, big trouble.
And in addition to all that, perhaps the darkest cloud over Washington’s roster fight is the fact that the Ravens would save money by cutting him. They’d save just $4 million with such a move. Sure, at this point in the offseason, there’s not much of a need for that, but if general manager Eric DeCosta sees an opportunity to make a veteran signing like Jadeveon Clowney to shore up the roster, he might have to have a difficult talk with Washington.
Evidently, though, Washington’s time in Charm City isn’t up just yet. From the questionable status of Nnamdi Madubuike to Benny and Peebles being unproven, there's a real reason as to why Washington is still here. And he could shift the trend of this conversation if he flashes his old form when he gets back on the field.
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