The Philadelphia Eagles are releasing veteran cornerback Darius Slay, according to CBS Sports lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. This ends a decorated five-season stint with Philadelphia, which included three Pro Bowl nods and, most recently, a win in Super Bowl LIX.
The writing was on the wall for Slay’s tenure to come to a close with the Eagles this offseason since the 34-year-old was entering the final year of his contract. On top of entering what would’ve been a lame-duck year, there were also no guaranteed money left on his contract, which further emphasized either his release or a restructuring of some sort. The club has since opted for the former, and Slay will now enter the open market.
As ESPN reports, the Eagles will be releasing Slay with a post-June 1 designation, which means the organization will clear $4.3 million off its salary cap this offseason.
Slay joined the Eagles in March of 2020 when the club executed a trade with the Detroit Lions, who drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. During his time in Detroit, Slay established himself as one of the league’s top corners, earning three Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro honor in 2017 after co-leading the league in interceptions.
This past regular season, Slay started in all 14 of his games played, notching 49 tackles, 13 pass breakups and one forced fumble. In coverage, he allowed an 81.9 passer rating and a 54.7 completion percentage when targeted. During Philadelphia’s playoff run to a Super Bowl LIX title, Slay started all four postseason games and totaled five pass breakups and an interception.
