Veteran cornerback Ronald Darby has knowledgeable the Houston Texans that he’s retiring from the NFL.
The Texans positioned Darby on the reserve/retired listing Monday.
Darby, 31, had signed a one-year contract in March with the Texans as a free agent after he was launched by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He began 12 video games for the Jaguars in 2024 in his solely season for the franchise.
Darby was anticipated to be a veteran backup to the Texans’ beginning cornerback duo of Kamari Lassiter and All-Professional Derek Stingley Jr. and his retirement does add a gap to the depth of the group. Darby had 107 profession begins within the NFL whereas the remainder of Houston’s non-starters have 25 mixed.
The backup group options veterans Myles Bryant, D’Angelo Ross, and Tremon Smith adopted by third-round rookie Jaylin Smith and undrafted free agent Alijah Huzzie.
The Texans’ beginning cornerbacks have been susceptible to miss time of their historical past. Although Stingley performed each sport in 2024, he performed in solely 20 of his first 34 video games. Lassiter missed three video games (shoulder and concussion) throughout his rookie 12 months. So, the lack of Darby may barely have an effect on the staff if Houston loses a starter for any period of time.
Darby, a second-round draft select of Florida State by the Buffalo Payments in 2015, completed second in Defensive Rookie of the 12 months voting that season after beginning 15 video games and ending with two interceptions and 68 tackles.
He additionally was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Tremendous Bowl LII-winning squad, though his season led to November due to a torn ACL.
In all, Darby performed in 118 video games over 10 NFL seasons for the Payments, Eagles, Washington, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens and Jaguars.
He finishes his profession with eight interceptions, 106 passes defended and 447 tackles.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.
