For new Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Ronald Darby, it didn't take a hard sell in free agency to join Doug Pederson's squad for a second time.
"It was more than a phone call. Doug [Pederson] of course, I played with him. We had success before. He’s a great coach, so I didn’t have any problem at all coming back to play for him," Darby said this week at the Miller Electric Center.
"There wasn’t any like, I don’t know, once my agent told me, I was like, ‘Alright, I’m down.’ My agent got it done.”
Darby signed a two-year deal with the Jaguars after spending 2023 with the Baltimore Ravens, starting seven games and appearing in 16 while also starting in two playoff games. Darby finished the season with 28 tackles, one tackle for loss, and seven pass breakups.
Darby had a clear connection on the Jaguars' staff in Pederson, who coached Darby from 2017-2019 in Philadelphia.
“I’ve been saying it all day, he’s a straightforward coach," Darby said,
"That’s all you ask for in a coach. He’s going to make sure you work hard, he’s going to make sure things get done the way they need to get done. He likes to win just as much as the players. I trust his schemes and he has success, he’s a great coach.”
Darby, 30, was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2015 draft. He spent two seasons with the Bills, three seasons with the Eagles, one season with the Washington Commanders, two years with the Denver Broncos, and finally a year with the Ravens.
In nine seasons, Darby has recorded 401 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 97 pass breakups, and eight interceptions.
"I got a background of playing man, that’s what I came into the league doing, that’s what I did all through college and all through my career," Darby said.
"Different places I went to, we ran different schemes and I got better at doing that. My number one thing has always been playing man. I was always a bump and run corner from the Buffalo days, so it wasn’t really that much they had to sell to me.”
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