The Philadelphia Eagles seemingly cut cornerback Darius Slay earlier Wednesday. As it turns out, they may have had a change of heart.
The Philadelphia Eagles have had quite a couple of days in regard to their roster. While they were able to keep James Bradberry, Jason Kelce, and Fletcher Cox, they lost players like Javon Hargrave T.J. Edwards, and Miles Sanders. On early Wednesday morning, it sounded as though the Eagles were set to release Darius Slay, their top cornerback.
With the Eagles strapped of cap space and with the fact that safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was set to become a coveted free agent, the team and Slay seemingly couldn’t come to an agreement on a restructured contract. That allowed Slay to hit the open market, or so we thought.
Later on Wednesday night, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweeted out that the Eagles were “having a hard time letting go of” Slay and that they “still wish they could keep him.”
From there, the news only got more and more positive for Eagles fans.
Darius Slay seemingly staying with Eagles after all
ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles never officially released Slay, and that a source told him that the cornerback is “expected to stay with the Eagles,” while noting that it wasn’t final.
But then, Slay’s wife, Jennifer, tweeted out “WE HERE BABY,” complete with green heart and eagles emojis.
Then Slay chimed in to seemingly confirm everything that was being rumored.
And just like that, Eagles fans continued to give their flowers to general manager Howie Roseman, who as of this writing, appears to have kept both of their top cornerbacks. On Tuesday, the team signed Bradberry to a three-year, $38 million contract with incentives that can bring the total up to $44 million. Also, $20 million of Bradberry’s salary is guaranteed.
It will be interesting to see what Slay’s contract will look like now, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this upcoming season.
This past season, Slay recorded 55 combined tackles (40 solo, 15 assisted), 14 passes defended and three interceptions. In coverage, Slay allowed 46 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns on 79 targets, per Pro Football Reference.
The Eagles were close to winning Super Bowl 57 this past season, and they are trying their best to keep as much of the band together as possible.