WATCH: Darian Stewart Gets Video Tribute After Release By Broncos

DENVER (247 SPORTS) - Darian Stewart is being sent off in style. The Denver Broncos officially released the veteran safety on Thursday, ending a championship-capturing four-year stint and reducing the original No Fly Zone to just one member.

The transaction — a cap-clearing move which frees roughly $3.6 million — was originally reported Wednesday and formally submitted to the league.

Signed in 2015, Stewart was a solid if unspectacular defender for the Broncos, known to lay the lumber. He finishes his tenure with 250 tackles, 24 pass deflections, nine interceptions and two forced fumbles. His play gradually declining, he fell from serviceable vet to major liability, grading out as Pro Football Focus' No. 77 safety among 93 qualifiers in 2018.

The writing was plastered on the wall for Stewart after he watched Denver move on from inside linebacker Brandon Marshall and nose tackle Domata Peko, hell-bent on upgrading the defense under new head coach Vic Fangio. Stewart tweeted last week "[I] need to know ... sooner than later" a decision regarding his future, and Denver responded with an expected pink slip.

He broke the news of his departure on Instagram.

"Broncos country thank you all for the love you showed me and my family these past 4 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 [football] left in me so I'll see y'all real soon."

Stewart joins a flood safety market featuring Earl Thomas, Landon Collins, Adrian Amos, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Eric Weddle and Tyrann Mathieu. The Broncos are expected to pursue Amos, who played for Fangio and new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell in Chicago.