Darius Slay knew his release from the Philadelphia Eagles could happen in the days after the cornerback helped the club win a Super Bowl.
After Philly did indeed decide to cut him, the 34-year-old said on his Big Play Slay podcast that he understands it was just business. Slay also didn’t discount the possibility of a return to the Eagles.
“It is part of the business, and, nah, I’m not hurt about it,” he said. “I’m not sad about it because this is what I signed up for. I knew I gave that team everything I had, the organization everything I had. So, it’s always a possibility, though, of your boy coming back. It’s not always throw it in the back, but this time I’m just thankful enough that I could get ahead of free agency if I find me a good destination for myself.
“But hopefully, you know, we’ll see how the Eagles do. If the Eagles do something nice, they know I’d love to be back. They know that, they know that, and I understand how this game is. Teams get younger. Teams want to save cap space because they pay younger guys for their future. And that’s why I said there are no hard feelings.”
Slay noted that at his age, after 12 years -- five in Philly, seven in Detroit -- he knows that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman wanted to skew younger in the defensive backfield, with rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean taking the reins.
The corner noted that the last time the Eagles made a Super Bowl run in 2022, the club discussed potentially moving on but ultimately agreed to a reworked deal that kept Slay in Philly.
“I know I’m 34. I know I’m way out of my prime but still playing at an elite, elite level,” he said. “I know me and Howie had a great talk and he said the same. It’s not that I can’t play, that’s just part of the business. He just said we’ll see how things shake out and we will. So possibly, he might spin the block back just like he did last time. And look, he [spun] the block back and a year, two years later, Super Bowl champs. So, you know what I’m saying? We’ll see.”
If Roseman decides not to spin the block back this offseason, Slay would prefer a reunion in Detroit. The former second-round pick spent seven seasons with the Lions before famously butting heads with then-coach Matt Patricia, which led to a trade to Philadelphia.
The Lions do need a veteran corner to bolster a young crew, and even at 34, Slay proved he can still play at an NFL level. Slay won’t put all his eggs in the Detroit basket, however.
“If there’s any teams I’d love to play for, you already know it’s Philly or the Detroit Lions," Slay said. "However that shake out, that’s how that shake out. Man, that would be a blessing. That’d be like (Malcolm) Jenkins. He started off with the Saints, then came over to Philly, then he ended his career back over there with the Saints. I would love that in a way of just saying those are the two teams I be wanting to play for -- the Philadelphia Eagles or the Detroit Lions.
“So, we’ll see. We’ll see. But now that I’m a free agent, I’ve got a good chance to just see what other teams are looking to offer your boy. There’s a lot of great coaches I would love to play for. Y’all know I got big hype with big Mike (Tomlin) over there in Pittsburgh, man. There’s a lot of great coaches I would love to learn from and just grow me as a character, as a player. We will see. We’re looking forward to it.”
Given his age, Slay is more likely to sign a deal in the second or third waves of free agency rather than lock in when the market opens next week. However, every single NFL team can use reliable corners. The Super Bowl champ will find a job at some point this offseason.