Ronald Darby tore his right ACL on Sunday night and his season is over.
This is just the latest blow to an Eagles team that continues to suffer big injury after big injury.
Darby suffered the non-contact injury in the third quarter of Sunday night's 27-20 loss to the Cowboys. He was replaced by rookie Chandon Sullivan.
The Eagles have now lost two key members of their secondary from the start of the season to knee injuries: Rodney McLeod and Darby.
Darby may have played his final game in an Eagles uniform. The 24-year-old corner will be a free agent this offseason. Darby was acquired in a trade from the Bills last summer for Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick. He played 17 regular-season games with the Eagles.
This is the second year Darby has suffered a significant injury too. Last year, he suffered a dislocated ankle in the opener but returned in November.
At times during his two years with the Eagles, Darby showed off the skills that made him a second-round pick out of Florida State in 2015. But at other times, he gave up big plays and failed to be a consistent tackler. Even on Sunday night, he failed to wrap up a receiver on a crucial Cowboys third-down conversion. Tackling seemed to be his weak spot.
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While Darby is done for the year, it seems like Sidney Jones is getting close to returning from his hamstring injury suffered in the Giants game; he's day to day. Doug Pederson said Jalen Mills (foot) is a little further away.
That means it's possible the starting corners in New Orleans will be Rasul Douglas (who struggled some on Sunday) and Jones. At least this injury to Darby will give Jones a chance to show his ability to play outside corner; he has been relegated to nickel corner this season.
On Sunday night, the Eagles were down to playing deep reserves in the secondary thanks to injuries. They were running Chandon Sullivan, Tre Sullivan and Corey Graham out there along with Douglas, Avonte Maddox and Malcolm Jenkins. Dak Prescott tore them apart, throwing for 270 yards.
Once Darby is officially placed on injured reserve, he'll join a growing list of notable Eagles on IR:
Jay Ajayi
Derek Barnett
Ronald Darby
Mack Hollins
Rodney McLeod
Richard Rodgers
Mike Wallace
The Eagles, for the second straight season, have been decimated by injuries. The difference this year is that they never got rolling before the injuries started. It seemed like last year they suffered injuries but it was after momentum was in their favor. This year, that hasn't happened.
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