Eagles' Darby heads to IR with hip injury

The Philadelphia Eagles placed cornerback Ronald Darby on injured reserve Tuesday, the team announced. The season-ending move comes after Darby suffered a hip injury in Week 16.

The decision is a surprise considering a report Monday said he was only expected to miss a period of weeks.

Darby endured a bumpy 11 games for the Eagles in 2019 but was still arguably their top player in an extremely thin position group. The 25-year-old corralled two interceptions and broke up 11 passes this season.

Darby was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Bills in 2017. He signed a one-year contract to stay with Philadelphia last offseason while recovering from a torn ACL.

In other roster moves, the Eagles announced they waived running back Jay Ajayi, signed tight end Richard Rodgers, and promoted wide receiver Deontay Burnett from the practice squad.

Philadelphia will close out the regular season Sunday versus the New York Giants. A win will send the Eagles to the playoffs for the third consecutive year.