After the worst season of his NFL career, Marcus Williams knows he’s coming off a disappointing 2024. But the free-agent safety’s not letting the Ravens off the hook, either.

In an interview released last week with former New Orleans Saints teammate Terron Armstead, Williams acknowledged that “there’s a lot of stuff on my side that I could’ve done better” in Baltimore. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams allowed 14 catches for 247 yards and three touchdowns when targeted in coverage last season, a weak link in a Ravens secondary that was one of the NFL’s worst over the first half of last year. He was benched after nine starts and released in the offseason.

But Williams also blamed the Ravens for communication breakdowns.

“To be frank, it was just a lot of miscommunication from the top down,” Williams said. “I take accountability for whatever action that I did that they didn’t like. But I didn’t know what actions those were. But I take accountability for maybe missed opportunities, maybe missed plays that I could’ve done better on. But, as far as the communication from the top down, I feel like it could’ve been better.”

Williams’ biggest grievance appeared to be with how the Ravens handled his two benchings. Williams started the team’s first seven games, the last a shootout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before being benched in Week 8, when the Cleveland Browns stunned the Ravens. Starting safety Eddie Jackson struggled mightily in that road loss.

Williams returned to the starting lineup in Week 9 but not for long. After a disastrous performance in a Week 10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Williams played just two defensive snaps over the rest of the season. The Ravens’ secondary, led by their new safety duo of Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington, quickly stabilized, but Williams told Armstead that his demotion “didn’t make sense to me.”

“They could’ve communicated properly and effectively so that there was no missed communication when the switch was gonna occur,” Williams said. “I mean, I’ve played football for a long time. You don’t just get bad overnight. And most people on the outside will believe that plays that were given up may have been on me, but they don’t really know the depths of the coverage or what we were actually running, what we were told. They don’t really know, but as a safety, my responsibility is to do whatever I can to show up in the [television] screen and maybe, possibly make a play.”

Williams, who rarely spoke to reporters in Baltimore, said after his first benching in October that he was “all about moving forward to this week, getting prepared, staying prepared. When I’m ready to get in, when it’s my time, I’ll go in and do what I’ve got to do to make plays.”

First-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr said Williams handled his benching “like a pro, so I’m excited to see how we move and how he moves going forward.”

After Williams’ second and final benching, he maintained a low profile as a reserve. He was inactive for the Ravens’ last five regular-season games and two playoff games. After the season, coach John Harbaugh parted ways with several defensive assistants, including assistant head coach and pass game coordinator Chris Hewitt and secondary coach Doug Mallory.

“Ultimately, somebody had to take the fall because the media’s looking at it, the fans are looking at it and somebody has to take the fall for what’s going on,” said Williams, who did not single out a teammate or coach for any mistakes last season. “And, even though it may not be my fault, I’m not gonna come out and say, ‘Hey, this is such-and-such person.’”

Williams said he still loves football and has been ready to contribute “since midseason last year.” His confidence hasn’t waned, either. Williams said he believes that he is, “if not the best safety in the league, I’m one of the best, and there’s a lot of great safeties out there.” He said it “sucks” to not play despite making plays in practice against “the best quarterback in the league,” the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

Williams also acknowledged that his media-averse approach might’ve created the impression he wasn’t invested in the team’s success.

“They don’t see me clapping back or talking back in the media, they’re like, ‘Oh, he don’t care,’” Williams said. “But there’s one thing that I do, is I care, and I’m overly competitive. I’m about my business. I do everything the right way. So to do stuff the right way, to treat people the right way, to practice the right way, to watch film, to do everything the right way, it hurts when there’s a lack of communication. And that’s what I was most hurt about. I could’ve done with, ‘Hey, you know what, you’ve been doing this wrong,’ and then sitting me. Opposed to, ‘Hey, you’re done,’ right?

“But if I come out and start bashing my teammates, bashing my friends, then I’m a cancer in the locker room, and I don’t want to be that type of guy. So I just keep it on the hush. I’m not a flashy person. I’m not a big talker. But, when I’m probably done with football, I’m gonna be the one saying, like, ‘This is what happened. This is how it happened.’ And I’m gonna just keep it real because nobody really knows what’s really going on in the locker room besides the people in the locker room, unless that person says it, and once you do that, you’re a cancer to the team.”

Williams said he was still appreciative of the Ravens’ support over his three years in Baltimore. The team signed him to a five-year, $70 million contract in 2022, and he appeared in 32 games despite serious injuries over his first two years. He finished with five interceptions, 18 passes defended and 149 tackles.

“I appreciate all the fans,” Williams said. “I appreciate the coaches. I appreciate them giving me that opportunity. I appreciate them blessing me. It’s a blessing to be able to play for the Ravens, a great organization. Many greats have come through there, and I’m very appreciative of them. I mean, they blessed me and my family, and I wouldn’t change doing any of that for the world because, ultimately, I got paid.

“I feel like I played through injuries over there. I went through a torn pec[toral muscle], I dislocated my wrist, and I still played. And I still had great plays, so to have a dislocated wrist, come back in the same year, get a pick the first game I come back, then the next year, tear my pec, no surgery, only miss three games, come back — I put it all on the line for the Ravens.”