Will He Slay or Will He Go: Darius Slay Seeking a Trade?

With the Philadelphia Eagles set to lose three of its starting defensive backs: C. J. Gardner-Johnson (S), Marcus Epps (S) and James Bradberry (CB) to free agency, news of star cornerback Darius Slay requesting a trade couldn’t come at a worst time. Despite the real possibility of losing its entire starting secondary, the Eagles’ front office has granted Slay and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, permission to speak to potential suitors. So the big question heading into free agency is… Will He Slay or Will He Go?

Ironically, the Eagles acquired Darius Slay back in 2020 via a trade with the Detroit Lions. Now just 3 years later, another trade may be in the works. Slay, 32, is entering the final year of his $50 million contract extension with the Birds.

Slay wants to get paid

Darius Slay played 48 games (excluding the playoffs) in his 3 seasons with the Birds. Over that time, he racked up 166 tackles, 7 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He also scored 3 defensive touchdowns.

Big Play Slay ranks 13 among cornerbacks in 2022 per pff.com. He was selected to the pro-bowl the past 2 years (5 times in total). He had a strong start to 2022 with 3 interceptions during the first 5 weeks of the season. Currently, Slay has no more guaranteed money left on his contract. He deserves to be paid, right?

The Eagles want Slay to restructure

Darius Slay, who turned 32 years old in January, is still young in life, but aging in terms of football. While he had a strong start last year, he went quiet during the latter part of the season (at least by his standards). He had 0 interceptions after Week 5. Entering his 11th year in the league, Slay is set to make $17 million, 3rd highest among NFL cornerbacks according to spotrac.com, with a cap hit of over 26 million.

The Eagles absolutely want to keep Slay, but need him to restructure his contract in order to extend Jalen Hurts and sign other free agents. Slay is open to negotiations, but the two sides can’t agree on terms.

Does a trade make cents?

We’re all witnessing a game of poker being played. The eagles want to sign Slay to a team-friendly contract. While he may, or may not, be on the downside of his career, committing big money to an aging cornerback isn’t in the Eagles’ game plan. Essentially, they’re calling his bluff.

Slay still views himself as a top cornerback in the league and wants to be paid as such. The market will determine Slay’s value, as it does with all things. Whether teams are willing to shell out big bucks to a 32 year old cornerback who didn’t make the highlight reel late in the season remains to be seen.

According to overthecap.com, a trade definitely favors Slay over the Eagles, even more so early on. Trading the star defensive back before June 1 would only net the Birds $3.7 million in cap space, while trading him after June 1 would net the team nearly 5 times that number ($17.5 million). Waiting until June to finalize a trade would severely restrict the Eagles’ plans in free agency. On the other hand, trading Slay at the start of the new league year on March 15 just doesn’t make cents (see what I did there) for the organization.

So, what now?

The Philadelphia Eagles are content with letting Darius Slay gauge his value in the open market. Best case, the starting corner doesn’t attract top dollar and resumes negotiations with the Eagles’ front office. Worst case, one or more teams go all in. If that happens, both the timing of the trade and the players (and/or draft capital) the Birds get in return will be crucial. So the question remains… Will He Slay or Will He Go?