diff --git a/src/common/legacy_config_opts.h b/src/common/legacy_config_opts.h
index c9429134ba1..58158015a98 100644
--- a/src/common/legacy_config_opts.h
+++ b/src/common/legacy_config_opts.h
@@ -813,7 +813,6 @@ OPTION(osd_op_log_threshold, OPT_INT) // how many op log messages to show in one
 OPTION(osd_verify_sparse_read_holes, OPT_BOOL)  // read fiemap-reported holes and verify they are zeros
 OPTION(osd_backoff_on_unfound, OPT_BOOL)   // object unfound
 OPTION(osd_backoff_on_degraded, OPT_BOOL) // [mainly for debug?] object unreadable/writeable
-OPTION(osd_backoff_on_down, OPT_BOOL)      // pg in down/incomplete state
 OPTION(osd_backoff_on_peering, OPT_BOOL)  // [debug] pg peering
 OPTION(osd_debug_crash_on_ignored_backoff, OPT_BOOL) // crash osd if client ignores a backoff; useful for debugging
 OPTION(osd_debug_inject_dispatch_delay_probability, OPT_DOUBLE)
diff --git a/src/common/options.cc b/src/common/options.cc
index c28367919bc..b116152762a 100644
--- a/src/common/options.cc
+++ b/src/common/options.cc
@@ -2620,10 +2620,6 @@ std::vector<Option> get_global_options() {
     .set_default(false)
     .set_description(""),
 
-    Option("osd_backoff_on_down", Option::TYPE_BOOL, Option::LEVEL_ADVANCED)
-    .set_default(true)
-    .set_description(""),
-
     Option("osd_backoff_on_peering", Option::TYPE_BOOL, Option::LEVEL_ADVANCED)
     .set_default(false)
     .set_description(""),