The Ravens have signed eight-year veteran cornerback Ronald Darby to bolster a position group that has been ravaged by injuries this summer. Six Ravens cornerbacks missed practice Aug. 16, most notably three-time Pro Bowl pick Marlon Humphrey, who is expected to be out roughly a month after undergoing foot surgery.
Darby, 29, played the past two seasons for the Denver Broncos, but he suffered a torn ACL last October and missed the remainder of the 2022 season. He started all five games for the Broncos before his injury and had started 11 games a year earlier.
Darby was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round out of Florida State in 2015, and he played two seasons for the Bills before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. He started Super Bowl LII for the Eagles after that 2017 season and played two more years for the Eagles before signing with Washington as a free agent. After one season in Washington, Darby moved on to Denver.
Darby has played every game just once in his eight seasons and has had multiple stints on injured reserve. Across eight seasons, Darby has made 88 starts, with 373 tackles, eight interceptions and 90 passes defensed.
Darby grew up in Oxon Hill, Md., and played high school football with former Ravens cornerback Tavon Young. Darby visited the Ravens this week and showed the team enough physically to earn a contract. The Ravens are in dire straits at cornerback in the near term, and Darby (5-foot-11, 193 pounds) can play on the outside, helping what has become the most pressing need on the roster.
Since training camp began, five Ravens cornerbacks have gone down to injury, most significantly Humphrey, who had practiced throughout the summer until opting to have surgery for what head coach John Harbaugh said was a “lingering” issue.
In addition to Humphrey, other cornerbacks sidelined for extended time in training camp have been Rock Ya-Sin — who was signed as the presumptive starter opposite Humphrey but has been dealing with a knee injury — Jalyn Armour-Davis, Damarion “Pepe” Williams and Arthur Maulet, who was signed earlier this summer to help address the depth concerns at the position. Trayvon Mullen never even started practicing; he is on the Non-Football-Injury reserve list (toe) and is expected to miss the season.
Humphrey and Williams (ankle) have both undergone surgical procedures, and Harbaugh indicated Williams will not be ready for the start of the regular season. Armour-Davis, Ya-Sin and Maulet could be ready for Week 1, and in fact Armour-Davis returned to practice Aug. 17.
Harbaugh did not speculate on a timetable for Humphrey’s injury except to say it wouldn’t be long-term. NFL Network reported that Humphrey could be sidelined a month, putting his availability in question for the season opener against Houston on Sept. 10 as well as an early AFC North showdown at Cincinnati in Week 2.
If the season started today, the Ravens’ starting cornerbacks probably would be Brandon Stephens and Kevon Seymour, who has started seven games in six seasons. Seymour was almost exclusively a special teams player last year, totaling six defensive snaps in 14 games.
Asked about the cornerback situation in light of Humphrey’s injury, Harbaugh said, “There’s no long-term concern, and that’s good. … There’s plenty of short-term concern. We’ve got to look at that, and it starts with the guys you have. We have guys that are ready to play now and have an opportunity to get out there and continue to improve and get the reps. We’ll see what they can do. And, of course, we’re always looking for players.”
The Ravens play their Week 2 preseason game at Washington on Aug. 21, and at this point they can ill afford to lose Stephens, Seymour or slot corner Ar’Darius Washington. Expect to see a heavy dose of fifth-round draft pick Kyu Blu Kelly, waiver acquisition Tae Hayes and undrafted rookies Jordan Swann, Jeremy Lucien and Corey Mayfield Jr.