Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Super Bowl 50 champion Darian Stewart is calling it a career.
The former Broncos safety who played in Denver for four seasons was a key member of the "No-Fly Zone" secondary and made one Pro Bowl during his 10-year NFL career before announcing his retirement on Thursday.
Stewart was known for his hard-hitting style as a safety, and he also proved to be a talented ball hawk for Denver. In his 61 games as a Bronco, Stewart racked up 254 total tackles, including seven tackles for loss, 24 pass breakups, nine interceptions, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, one sack and five quarterback hits.
The former South Carolina standout entered the league as an undrafted free agent and spent his first four seasons in St. Louis with the Rams before one season with Baltimore.
He arrived in Denver in 2015 as a free agent, signing to fill the last open starting spot in the secondary as part of a talented group that also featured three Pro Bowlers in Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr. and T.J. Ward.
Almost immediately, Stewart proved to also be a capable game-changer in his own right, as he sealed victory for the Broncos in the 2015 season opener when he intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. By the end of the season, Stewart had broken up 10 passes, a total that tied for second on the team.
During the Broncos' stellar postseason run in which they faced Steelers, Patriots and Panthers — three of the league's top four teams in points scored that year — Stewart was indispensable. He picked off a pass by Tom Brady in the AFC Championship, and in the Super Bowl, he had a sack, three tackles, a quarterback hit, two pass breakups and forced a fumble.
In the three years that followed, the soft-spoken safety continued to play at a high level.