March 3, 2025   3 MIN READ

Time To Slay Goodbye

Birds To Part Ways With CB

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The Eagles are reportedly parting ways with cornerback Darius Slay, who made three Pro Bowls in five seasons and was a starter for the 2024 Super Bowl champions.

Slay, a six-time Pro Bowler, had one year left on his deal and has said he’d like to play one more season. He turned 34 on Jan. 1.

ESPN first reported the move, adding the Eagles will save $4.3 million against the cap using the post-June 1 designation.

 

Slay had almost been released by the Eagles after the 2022 season but ended up signing an extension.

Slay’s departure leaves the Eagles with some questions in the defensive backfield as they try to become repeat champions in 2025.

Darius Slay

GETTY IMAGES: Saying goodbye to Darius Slay will save the Eagles about $4 million in cap space.

Their top backup outside corner, Isaiah Rodgers, will become a free agent next week when the new league year begins. The “legal tampering” period starts Monday. Deals are allowed to be official Wednesday.

The Eagles have interest in retaining the 27-year-old Rodgers, who played 36 percent of the defensive snaps in 2024 and logged three pass breakups in the postseason along with a fumble recovery.

The team could also move second-year defensive back Cooper DeJean outside after the Iowa product and 2024 second-round pick spent his rookie season at nickelback, where he flourished in Vic Fangio’s defense.

Moving Cooper outside, where the Eagles projected him to eventually play, would mean finding a replacement at nickel instead of outside corner.

Regardless, the Eagles will miss the leadership provided by Slay, who was viewed as mentor to the Eagles’ young defensive backs.

Though he had lost a step and battled older knees, Slay still played 14 games in 2024 and all three four playoff games to become a first-time champion. His interception of Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the wild-card round was the first postseason pick of his career.

After coming to the Eagles in a 2o20 trade with the Lions, Slay started 73 of 74 regular-season games and logged nine interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. He also scooped three fumbles, returning two for touchdowns. For his career, he has started 94 games and has 28 career interceptions.

Nicknamed “Big Play Slay,” in 2017, Slay led the NFL in interceptions (eight) and pass breakups (26) to make his first Pro Bowl with the Lions. He led the NFL in fumble return yards (116) and fumble return touchdowns (two) in 2021, his second year with the Eagles.

Since 2013, Slay leads all NFL players in pass breakups.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com

About The Author

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Geoff Mosher is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience covering the Eagles, the NFL and other college and pro sports across several different multimedia platforms. He is co-host of the acclaimed Inside the Birds podcast, the leading podcast for intel on the Philadelphia Eagles, and co-host on 97.3 ESPN's drive-time show. He has also hosted on Philadelphia's sports-talk station, 94.1 WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic. Geoff was the lead Eagles Insider from 2012-2015 for NBC Sports Philadelphia, where he wrote for the website and appeared daily on the station's TV shows, including Quick Slants, Philly Sports Talk, Eagles Pregame/Postgame Live and Eagles Extra. Prior to joining NBC Sports, Geoff worked the Eagles beat from 2005-2012 for the Wilmington News Journal, where he broke several major news stories and also won an Associated Press Sports Editors award under the category of Breaking News for his coverage of the sudden death of Phillies play by play broadcaster Harry Kalas. Geoff has appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter, NFL Network, NBC Sports Network, FOX29, 6ABC and has conducted interviews for Sirius/XM NFL radio and countless other radio stations across the country.

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