The Broncos released defensive back Darian Stewart, according to an announcement from Stewart himself. On Wednesday, the veteran took to Instagram to bid farewell to his fans in Denver. 
“Broncos country thank you all for the love you showed me and my family these past four years,” Stewart wrote. “But, it’s time for me to move on and I’m looking forward to the next chapter. I still got a whole lotta 🏈 left in me so I’ll see y’all real soon.”
Stewart was due roughly $5MM for 2019. By releasing him, the Broncos will save roughly $3.57MM against the cap with $2.8MM in dead money left over.
The Broncos signed Stewart to a two-year deal worth $4.25MM in 2015 and he quickly proved his worth. Stewart started in nearly all of his 58 games for the Broncos and recorded both a forced fumble and a sack in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory.
Stewart saw some time at cornerback and free safety in ’17, but he played mostly at strong safety last year. This figures to be a crowded safety market, which is a bit of a double-edged sword for Stewart. Plenty of teams are in need of safeties, but Stewart will be a lower priority than Earl Thomas, Adrian Amos, Lamarcus Joyner, Tyrann Mathieu, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and others.
Stewart graded out as just the No. 77 ranked safety in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus. His 59.6 overall score was a massive step back from his first two seasons in Denver, which included a Pro Bowl-worthy performance in 2016.
As a Broncos fan and a SC Gamecocks fan living in Alabama, I’m going to miss Darian Stewart in Denver.
He was good earlier in his Bronco career, but it’s time to move on.