The Denver Broncos are releasing cornerback Ronald Darby to save salary cap space, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Darby, 29, was scheduled to have a cap hit of $12,647,059 this season. By cutting the veteran cornerback, the Broncos will create a “dead money” cap hit of $3 million with a net savings of $9,647,059, according to OverTheCap.com.
Denver general manager George Paton signed Darby to a three-year, $30 million contract in 2021. Since then, Darby has been healthy for 16 games over the last two seasons, totaling 67 tackles and nine pass breakups.
The Broncos wanted to create additional salary cap space ahead of NFL free agency next week and Darby was viewed as expendable following the emergence of Damarri Mathis. The second-year cornerback started 11 games in the place of an injured Darby last season and performed well.
The Broncos also released running back Chase Edmonds on Friday, a move that created $5.92 million in additional salary cap space.
After parting ways with Darby and Edmonds, Denver has created more than $15.5 million in additional salary cap space ahead of NFL free agency.
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