By A to Z Sports,Kelsey Kramer

Copyright yardbarker

Darius Slay Spent Five Seasons in Philly

Slay, 34, was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2013. After seven seasons in Detroit, Slay was traded to Philly in 2020. The Eagles welcomed Slay and his family with open arms and immediately signed him to a three-year, $20 million extension.

The Eagles’ decision to release Slay was strictly a business decision to help create more salary cap space. Per Schefter, the Eagles saved $4.3 million against the cap in 2025. They also saved another $17.8 million for 2026. That cap relief helped the Eagles sign players at the positions that they needed during the March NFL free agency period. There was a slim chance Slay could have re-signed with Philly if they had offered him a new contract with the amount of money he was seeking at the time, but that didn’t happen. “I’ve got one more left (on my contract), but you know how that works,” Slay said on the St. Brown Podcast back in March. “Whatever they want to do, I might re-sign back, hopefully. If I ain’t, we’ll see what I’m doing because I do want to play one more year, for sure.

“If it is, it is. If it ain’t, it ain’t. For sure, the two spots I would love to always be at is Philly or Detroit. The main two, the main ones I’d love to be at.”

In five seasons with the Eagles, Slay appeared in 74 games and logged nine interceptions, 56 pass breakups, and three fumble recoveries. He was also a major reason why then-rookie cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell made a smooth transition from college to the professional level. In four games with the Steelers so far, Slay has totaled 15 tackles, including 14 solo, one fumble recovery, and two passes defended.