Is former FSU now Eagles DB Ronald Darby in jeopardy in Winston investigation?
Florida Football Insiders
Published 1 min ago on June 22, 2018 By Florida Football Insiders
Former Florida State and now, Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Ronald Darby, who was part of their Superbowl win in February, may be in jeopardy of having violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy in the Jameis Winston investigation.
Darby, who’s 24 was Winston’s teammate at Florida State, was drafted by the Bills in the the same 2015 draft that the Bucs took Winston #1 overall, and also just completed his third year in the league.
And central to the investigation, he claims he was with Winston in the vehicle in Arizona on the night in March of 2016, when a female Uber driver maintains that Winston inappropriately touched her. Darby gave a statement after the incident, which maintained that he was in the vehicle the entire time and that Winston did nothing wrong.
As we wrote Thursday night, the NFL, after investigating the accusation for 10 months, is poised to suspend Winston at least three games for upcoming season, as soon as Friday.
Well now, there is more information coming out from NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo on the network’s “NFL Total Access” show Thursday night. Garafolo has learned from sources that part of the NFL’s finding is that Winston and Darby were lying about Darby being in the car the entire time.
Mike Garafolo
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@MikeGarafolo
A few notes on Jameis Winston’s situation, following up on reports from ESPN Tallahassee and ESPN. One thing to highlight: Ronald Darby’s backing Winston ultimately didn’t hold water because he wasn’t in the car the whole time, the NFL’s investigation found.
This is a critical piece to the puzzle of what went on that night in Arizona. And as adamant as Winston and Darby both were last Winter (almost 18 months after the incident), if it has been disproven, then Darby could be facing suspension as well.
For the record, Winston claimed that there was another unnamed person in the Uber vehicle that night. That person has never been identified to this point. Reportedly, Winston’s girlfriend at the time, now fiance, Breion Allen, was with him that weekend in Arizona, but was not the unnamed third person in the Uber that night.
Back to Darby. He battled injuries after being traded to Philly in 2017 and was limited to just eight regular season games. However, he made four tackles and defended a pass in the Eagles 41-33 championship win over the Patriots. He is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
Darby is no stranger to Winston and his controversies, as he was a witness in Winston’s sexual assault accusation at their apartment in Tallahassee in December of 2012. Winston was a red-shirt quarterback (not active) and would become a much bigger star in 2013. That’s when he led FSU to an unbeaten season and the National Title with Darby part of the that team.
Darby gave a sworn affidavit in late 2013, almost a year after the incident, backing Winston’s claim that Winston and the accuser, FSU student Erica Kinsman, had consensual sex.
Again, we await the NFL making public their findings in the investigation of the March 2016 incident. They will notify Winston in writing of what they found and what their proof/reasoning is for the suspension.
And, the league may very well shed light on Darby’s situation and could, emphasis on could, take action against him, too.
So, now we wait.
