Philadelphia Eagles: Ronald Darby becomes NFC East rival for 2020

It looks like the Philadelphia Eagles will be seeing a familiar face twice next season in Ronald Darby after the cornerback signed with the Washington Redskins.

Even though the Philadelphia Eagles were in need of help at the cornerback position this offseason, early signs pointed to the team finally moving on from Ronald Darby after three seasons, which turned out to be the case.

While there were plenty of great moments involving Darby over the last three years after the Eagles acquired the former Florida State star from the Buffalo Bills before the 2017 season, there was also some frustration over the cornerback’s inability to stay healthy.

The fact that Darby was never actually healthy enough to play a full season for Philadelphia shows why moving on from the cornerback was the best decision for the Eagles this offseason, and they obviously wish him nothing but the best with his next team.

Turns out, that next team happens to be the Washington Redskins, who agreed to terms with Darby on a favorable one-year deal to help fill their own need at the cornerback position.

For the Redskins, when taking into consideration they only have to pay Darby $4 million compared to the $8.5 million he made last season, they clearly have nothing to lose in giving him a shot for the 2020 season.

Meanwhile, the Eagles go from being done with Darby after three seasons to hoping the decision to let him walk in free agency doesn’t come back to haunt them in 2020 since joining the Redskins adds more fuel to the fire of this entertaining NFC East rivalry.

Over the last couple of seasons, Philadelphia has been fortunate enough to hold the upper hand in this rivalry with six wins in a row, but this could easily change in 2020 with Washington making some key moves this offseason, including the hiring of Ron Rivera as their new head coach.

An individual like Darby joining the Redskins’ defense may not seem like the biggest concern in the world for the Eagles at the moment based off the results from the last three seasons, and some of the issues he has experienced in trying to stay healthy.

However, if Darby does manage to stay healthy, and returns to his consistent form from a few years ago, this could result in trouble for the Eagles next season.