Ronald Darby Update: Eagles cornerback might return in Week 8

I have some bad news and good news.

The bad news is that Eagles starting cornerback Ronald Darby will NOT play in Philadelphia’s Week 7 game against the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football, according to NFL insider Mike Garafolo.

The good news is that the Eagles might get Darby back for their Week 8 game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, October 29.

Darby returned to practice this week for the first time since suffering a dislocated ankle in Week 1. The 23-year-old defensive back was limited in practice all week and was ruled questionable heading into Monday’s game. Doug Pederson originally said the “stars would need to align” in order for Darby to play against Washington, so it’s not very surprising that Darby is out.

Still, it’s a good sign for the Eagles that Darby is at least close to returning. He’s clearly the team’s most talented corner when healthy. In an appearance on NFL Network, Garafolo said he heard Darby looked “great” in practice this week.

With that said, Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas haven’t been total disasters at corner in his absence. They’re far from Pro Bowl talents, but they’ve relatively held their own on the outside. Veteran corner Patrick Robinson is having a great year in the slot and he’s taken some reps on the outside as well.

Getting Darby back at some point will give the Eagles a boost on defense. That’s great news for a team that’s already performing well.