Redskins sign new corner

Posted on by

March 29, 2020

by Steve Thomas

The Washington Redskins have reportedly agreed to terms with corner Ronald Darby:

Darby, who stands 5’11” and weighs 193 pounds, was the second round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2015 from Florida St.  He had a near-elite level athletic profile coming out of college, having run the 40 yard dash in 4.38 seconds, the 20 yard short shuttle in 4.14 seconds, and jumping 41.5 inches in the vertical leap and the standing broad jump in 10’9″ at the 2015 NFL Combine.  Darby stayed with Buffalo for two years, but was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in August, 2017.  He finished his rookie contract in 2018 and was re-signed by the Eagles to a one year deal for the 2019 season.  In total, he’s played in 57 games, starting 56, with 251 tackles, including 224 solo tackles, with 8 interceptions.  He suffered a torn ACL in week 10 of the 2018 season.  In 2019, he played and started 11 games before missing 5 due to a hip injury.

Darby has had moments of quality play in his career, but has seen it largely derailed by his injuries and performance that was declining even before the injuries hit.  He did not have a good 2019, but if Darby is completely healed and can get his performance back on track, the Redskins may have found themselves a bargain-priced starter.  He’s never been good pattern matching downfield, but has shown promise, when healthy, in a cover 2 zone where his responsibility is in the flats close to the line of scrimmage.  With the trade of Quinton Dunbar, Washington is clearly in need of a veteran to replace his production, and Darby’s relatively small $4M cap hit is a gamble worth taking.