Ravens All-Pro safety undergoes minor surgery

One of the newest defensive stars to wear the purple and black, young Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton recently underwent a minor surgical procedure, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. The purpose of the surgery was to remove some “loose bodies” from the first-team All-Pro’s elbow.

Hamilton has a bit of injury experience in his short NFL career but not anything that has held him out for too long. Twice, knee injuries have flared up on a knee that bothered him at Notre Dame, as well. He also underwent surgery following his rookie season for an injury to the hand and wrist area. He missed a single game as a rookie as well as the final two games of the team’s most recent campaign, at which point Baltimore’s postseason qualification was already determined.

After a rookie season that saw Hamilton rank as the NFL’s top safety, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Ravens made Hamilton a major focal point of their 2023 defense. He started at safety alongside Geno Stone as Marcus Williams spent six of the team’s first nine games injured.

Realizing that they had three viable starters at safety, Baltimore began to take advantage of Hamilton’s versatility, deploying him all over the defense. According to PFF, Hamilton spent 301 snaps at safety, 465 in the slot, 236 in the box, five at cornerback, and even 58 snaps on the defensive line, very literally covering the gamut of defensive positions. With an increased responsibility, Hamilton still graded highly with PFF, ranking as the sixth-best player at his position in 2023.

With Stone now in Cincinnati, the Ravens may have to adjust how they utilize Hamilton this season. Hamilton and Williams will continue to start at safety. In order to deploy Hamilton how they did last year, though, the team will need to find another quality starter at the position. Fourth-year undrafted safety Ar’Darius Washington could be a solution. After two years in a mostly reserve role, Washington was expected to make a much bigger impact on the defense at nickelback in 2023, even earning his first career start before suffering a season-ending chest injury in Week 2 of the season.

After Washington, two rookies could potentially make an impact. The team drafted Sanoussi Kane out of Purdue in the seventh round of this year’s draft. While not too much of a ballhawk, Kane is a physical defender who can make an impact as a strong safety covering the run and tight ends.

There’s been more buzz, though, about undrafted rookie signee Beau Brade out of Maryland. Brade was projected to be an early Day 3 draft pick but somehow fell off the board altogether. Baltimore took advantage and signed him as a free agent. Brade boasts some versatility to be interchangeable at the safety and nickel positions and could push Kane and even Washington for a bigger role that allows Hamilton to roam like he did last year.

The recovery for Hamilton’s recent procedure is approximated at two to three weeks. While he’ll miss the remainder of any physical activities before the team’s summer break, the Ravens are confident that he’ll be back by training camp.