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There has been another NFL retirement before the 2025 season. First, Frank Ragnow retires, now veteran cornerback Ronald Darby. If you’ve been paying attention to NFL secondaries for the last decade, you know the name. He has been a true journeyman defensive back playing snaps for six different rosters. However, he was virtually a 10-year starter and a former Super Bowl champ. That career is respectable at the cornerback position, which is arguably the toughest position in football.
The former second-round pick inked a $2.5 million contract this March to serve as a depth piece in the Houston Texans’ secondary. Now, during off-season training camps, he has announced he is retiring from the NFL. The Texans would have been Darby’s fourth team in four years. Furthermore, Darby likely only had a few more seasons left anyway, so it is never a horrible idea to retire sooner rather than later.
Darby finishes with 447 tackles, eight interceptions, and 106 pass deflections. He played 118 games in his career and was a part of the incredible Eagles Super Bowl LII run.
So what now? The Texans pivot to their youth. Third-rounder Kamari Lassiter and rookie Jaylen Smith just got a bigger defensive role. Houston has to have someone step into that CB3 role that Darby would likely fill.
As for Ronald Darby, he now gets to enjoy retirement and all the fruits of his hard work. He’s not a Hall of Famer, nor was he the best CB in the league. But he was a good player who made an impact with multiple franchises and left behind a solid NFL career.
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