Introduction
Darian Stewart (born August 4, 1988) is an American football free safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent after the 2010 NFL Draft and has also played for the Baltimore Ravens. As a member of the Broncos, he won a Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers. He was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2017. He played college football at South Carolina.
High school career
Stewart played high school football at Lee High School in Huntsville, Alabama. Stewart was a three-star prospect according to Rivals.com and was rated as the No. 35 safety in America and was on the Rivals.com Alabama top 25 2006 list. Stewart was selected as the Huntsville Times Super All-Metro Most Valuable Player as a senior and was named finalist for the 5A Back of the Year Award. He was all-city and all-metro honoree in 2004 and 2005. He also compited in track & field as a triple jumper.
College career
Stewart enrolled at South Carolina in 2006 and immediately saw action in 12 out of 13 games, both on defense and on special teams. He was a 2009 East-West Shrine Invite. In 2008, he played in 13 games with 13 starts and made 64 tackles (46 solo) and none for losses. In addition, he had 2 sacks, 8 pass breakups and forced two fumbles while recovering two. He earned the Joe Morrison Award as the Defensive Player of the Spring. In 2007 he played in 12 games with 10 starts. He made 68 tackles (56 solo) and three were for losses. He intercepted 2 passes, broke up 7 passes, recovered 2 fumbles and forced 2 fumbles. In 2006 his numbers were as follows: 2006: 12 GP; 0 GS; 5 Sol-7 TT; Saw action in 12 of 13 games as a true freshman, both on defense and on special teams.
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in | 213 lb | 4.53 s | 1.59 s | 2.57 s | 4.19 s | 6.89 s | 37 in | 10 ft 2 in | 12 reps | x | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
St. Louis Rams
Stewart was signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Rams. During his rookie year in 2010, Stewart played 13 games with 14 tackles, one sack, two passes defended and one fumble recovery. In 2011, Stewart played 15 games with 77 tackles, three sacks, one interception, 11 passes defended and two forced fumbles. In 2012, Stewart played 12 games with six tackles. In 2013, he played 13 games with 36 tackles, five passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Baltimore Ravens
On March 21, 2014, Stewart signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens. During the 2014 season, Stewart played all 16 games for the first time of his career, finishing with 56 tackles, 1 interception, 6 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
On January 3, 2015, Stewart intercepted Ben Roethlisberger in the 4th quarter during the Ravens' 30-17 win in the AFC wild-card round. Earlier in the game, Stewart defended a touchdown pass by pushing Steelers' receiver Antonio Brown out of bounds before he could complete the catch.
Denver Broncos
Stewart signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos on March 13, 2015. In his Broncos debut, Stewart intercepted what could have been the game winning touchdown for his former team, the Baltimore Ravens. Stewart played a big role to help the Broncos finish with the #1 defense and a 12-4 record. He had 63 tackles, a forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, and 10 passes defended. In the Divisional round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Stewart had 5 tackles in the 23-16 win. in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, Stewart recorded 3 tackles, 1 pass defended, and intercepted Tom Brady to help Denver win 20-18 and advance to Super Bowl 50 where they defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Stewart recorded 3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defended, and forced a fumble in the Super Bowl.
On September 14, 2016, Stewart was fined $18,231 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cam Newton.
On November 26, 2016, Stewart signed a four-year $30 million contract extension with the Broncos through 2020.