The Baltimore Ravens saw safety Geno Stone depart for the Cincinnati Bengals during 2024 free agency. The former Iowa star admirably filled in for fellow safety Marcus Williams once he went down with injury, with no dropoff in his play compared to his veteran counterpart.
With Stone gone, multiple young players must step up as depth pieces in the safety position. Williams was asked about how the new safety depth is fairing so far and praised the group.
“Yes, it’s always been [a] next-man-up mentality. Even if somebody is not here right now, we’re all still working. And [Kyle Hamilton] is still out here acting as if he’s a coach. Kyle thinks he’s a coach now or something.” (laughter) “But no, I think they’re doing a great job, leaning the playbook, and everybody is pretty much interchangeable in our defense, [and] everybody learns every position so [that] they know what to do. Going out there and having it in practice, [helps] us perform for the upcoming season.”
Ar’Darius Washington, Sanoussi Kane, and Beau Brade are safeties that the Ravens will need to step up this season, assuming no more roster moves are made. That’s a lot of inexperience in terms of depth, but as long as Williams and Kyle Hamilton stay healthy, it shouldn’t be too big of an issue.
