Philadelphia Eagles: Ronald Darby returns with a starting spot
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby lost time but didn’t lose his status as a starter on the defense.
The Philadelphia Eagles 2018 defense was surely one of the unhealthiest bunch’s in the NFL. Somehow, soft tissue injuries became the not-so-hottest trend to the secondary beginning with safety, Rodney McLeod in week three. From then on, the injuries piled on.
Eagles’ starting cornerback Ronald Darby, unfortunately, fell victim to the injury bug for the second season in a row. During the 2017 season, Darby dislocated his ankle during the first week of the season. Last year, he tore his ACL later on in the season, ending his year prematurly.
This offseason, Darby became a free agent. After spending the last two seasons in Philadelphia, it was unclear as to whether the veteran cornerback would return to the midnight green or not. Seeing as though he’s only played in 17 out of 32 regular-season games during his time with the Eagles, it didn’t seem like a great idea to re-sign him to a significant deal.
While the Eagles didn’t give him a multi-year contract, they were willing to pay him over $9 million for the 2019 season depending on his performance. Knowing how much he will get from the front office, it was assumed that Darby doesn’t have too much competing to do in order to win his starting spot back. As it turns out, that assumption wasn’t false.
Darby returns to the outside
Throughout the offseason, the Eagles have been running with Rasul Douglas on one side at cornerback, and Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox rotating in and out on the other side and in the nickel. With Darby officially back in the mix for full scrimmages, the lineup has changed.
Darby does, in fact, have his starting position back. As of Sunday’s practice, Douglas and Jones would rotate on one side while Maddox remained in the slot. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Darby has acquired all of the reps with starters, further proving that he’s already won his spot.
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Are the Eagles making the right decision here? Well, that could most definitely be up for debate. While Darby has flashed some serious CB1 potential during his short stint with the Birds, his health and occasional struggles tend to overshadow when he actually did play very well.
Our best guess is that Darby’s going to be on a short leash this season. As guys like Douglas, Jones, and Maddox continue to thrive, the Eagles will feel comfortable knowing that if Darby does struggle, he can be replaced. However, the goal is to have Darby prove he’s a real No. 1 corner so the Eagles could lock the young defender into a long-term deal. This year is his biggest test yet.