When the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Ronald Darby in 2024, they thought they had found an adequate (and cheaper) replacement for Darious Williams, their best cornerback the season prior. But what they got instead was a player who struggled so badly that he became a healthy scratch at the end of the year.
Not surprisingly, the Jags cut ties with Darby before the start of free agency. Surprisingly, it didn't take him long to find a new home, as he signed with the rival Houston Texans. But in an unexpected twist, the veteran cornerback has chosen to call it quits.
In the third week of Organized Team Activities, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Darby let the Texans know that he's retiring after 10 seasons.
Make no mistake, the former Florida State Seminole had an illustrious NFL career that included a Super Bowl victory as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. But even if you leave aside his stint in the City of Brotherly Love, Darby was a pretty reliable cornerback, appearing in 105 games with 95 starts and registering eight interceptions and 97 passes defensed from 2015 to 2023.
However you look at it, you don't last as many seasons in the NFL, let alone have a featured role, unless you are pretty good. Heck, it wasn't until Darby signed with the Jags that he showed a notable decline.
In his lone season in Jacksonville, Darby appeared in 13 games with 12 starts. Later in the year, he was phased out in favor of Montaric Brown and was inactive the last four games. That's why nobody batted an eye when he was one of the many veterans the new regime released just before the start of free agency.
The Jaguars shouldn't have replaced Darious Williams with Ronald Darby
On paper, signing Ronald Darby to replace Darious Williams made sense. After all, the latter was set to make more than $10 million in 2024, and the Jacksonville Jaguars got that amount of cap space when they moved on from him. Meanwhile, Darby signed a two-year deal worth $10 million. In practice, it was a bad move.
The silver lining is that the Jags have made upgrades to their cornerback room since parting ways with Darby. Aside from signing Jourdan Lewis in free agency, they made a bold trade on Draft Day to select two-way star Travis Hunter, who's already practicing on defense. Jarrian Jones and Tyson Campbell are still in the mix, so it's fair to say that Jacksonville is in good shape despite letting Darby walk. Heck, he probably wouldn't have moved the needle even if he had suited up for the Houston Texans.
Ultimately, his bad season with the Jaguars shouldn't undo what Ronald Darby accomplished through his NFL career. Jacksonville would've surely loved to go against him when they face Houston in 2025, but that won't be possible in light of his retirement news.
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