NFL Free Agency

Slay finds a new home after being released by Eagles

Former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay has reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Steelers.

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Dave Zangaro and Reuben Frank discuss the amount of turnover on the Eagles defense following the trade of C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Tuesday.

Former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay has agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal.

Slay’s one-year deal in Pittsburgh is worth $10 million fully-guaranteed, according to Slay's agent Drew Rosenhaus.

The Eagles informed Slay of his release last week but it couldn’t become official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday at 4 p.m. because they used a post-June 1 designation on his release.

By using that post-June 1 designation, the Eagles will eventually save $4.324 million in cap space but they won’t get that relief until then. The Eagles will have to carry his full cap figure of $13,765,483 through that date.

Slay, 34, came to the Eagles from Detroit before the 2020 season and spent five years in Philly after seven seasons in Detroit. He made three Pro Bowls in those five seasons in Philly and helped the Eagles get to two Super Bowls, winning one to cap the 2024 season. During his five years in Philly, Slay had 9 interceptions, 2 returned for touchdowns and 56 pass breakups.

Slay said he was open to a possible return after he was informed of his release but he’ll now be going across the state to the Steelers.

The Eagles are expected to use their other post-June 1 designation to release fellow veteran cornerback James Bradberry, who missed the entire 2024 season on Injured Reserve.

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While Slay dealt with some nagging injuries in his age 33 season, he still managed to start 14 games in the regular season and all four in the playoffs. The guy who replaced Slay in the lineup last year was Isaiah Rodgers, who also left in free agency to join the Vikings on a two-year, $15 million deal.

The Eagles have lost some key players from their Super Bowl defense and will be relying on younger players to replace them. The top internal candidate to replace Slay in 2025 is third-year cornerback Kelee Ringo, who was a third-round pick out of Georgia in 2023.

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