The Eagles are moving on from Darius Slay.
After the two sides could not come to a new contract agreement, the Eagles are planning to release the Pro Bowl corner when the new league year begins Wednesday afternoon, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.
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Slay, 32, spent the last three seasons in Philadelphia and was a Pro Bowler in 2021 and 2022. He said his goodbye to Philly in a Wednesday morning tweet:
Slay was set to enter the final year of his contract in 2023 and wanted a contract extension. The Eagles, meanwhile, desperately wanted to lower his $26 million cap hit for the upcoming season. Last Friday, the Eagles granted Slay’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, permission to seek a trade. That was a move was so Rosenhaus could find the market for the veteran cornerback.
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But since then, the two sides were not able to come to an agreement on a new contract and now the Eagles are moving on from Slay.
The Eagles had two options with this release. And according to a league source, they will designate Slay as a post-June 1 release. That will clear $17 million in cap space but they will have to carry his full $26.1 million cap hit through that date. It will eventually leave $8.6 million in dead money in 2023 and $13.8 million in dead money in 2024. It's basically a way of splitting up those dead cap charges.
Slay was still very good in 2022, but his play did decline some in the second half of the season. In the first eight games of the season, opponents completed just 46.3% of their passes against him with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions and a passer rating of 37.2. But in the last 9 games of the regular season, that was up to 71.1% for 346 yards with 4 touchdowns, 0 INTs and a passer rating of 134.4, according to Stathead.
The Eagles acquired Slay in May of 2020 in a trade with the Lions. The Eagles struck out in the expensive cornerback market in free agency and were able to land Slay for a third-rounder and fifth-rounder in the 2020 draft. After the trade, Slay signed a three-year deal worth $50 million and $30 million guaranteed.
While the Eagles are losing Slay, they were able to retain James Bradberry, who was a pending free agent. Bradberry is re-signing on a three-year, $38 million contract. Bradberry, 29, was a second-team All-Pro in 2022.
The Eagles will also likely make a push to re-sign safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who is a pending free agent as well.
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