Report: Slay Given Trade Permission

The Eagles have given Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay permission to seek a trade, according to an ESPN report.

The Philadelphia Eagles have allowed Darius Slay’s agent Drew Rosenhaus to seek a trade, per sources. The Eagles are still hopeful to find a solution where Slay remains an Eagle.

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 10, 2023

Slay’s agent is Drew Rosenahaus, who according to the report is allowed to shop around the 32-year-old corner. The report mentions the Eagles still hope to retain Slay, who in 2022 made his fifth Pro Bowl.

Slay carries a base salary of $17 million in 2023 from the extension he signed in 2020 after being traded to the Eagles from the Lions, and some subsequent restructuring. But none of the base salary is guaranteed.

Slay is seeking a new deal, a league source told Inside The Birds.

GETTY IMAGES: Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay has reportedly been given permission to seek a trade for a new contract.

A pre-June 1 trade of Slay would be an exorbitant dead cap charge of more than $20 million.

The Eagles also are facing the prospect of losing opposite corner James Bradberry and starting safeties CJ Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps in free agency next week.

Here’s what typically happens in situations like this: The team gives the player’s agent a chance to discuss trade options and new contract scenarios with other teams. If there’s a market that involves in a better deal – emphasis on “if” – the team can either agree to match that other team’s offer and retain him or work out a trade and get compensation in return for the cap hit.

The Eagles could probably satisfy Slay and keep him by offering to match any potential new contract another team would be willing to give him. Or they could decide to move him and re-sign James Bradberry, who’s nearly three years younger than Slay and coming off a second-team All Pro season.

They could also try to restructure Slay’s contract, but that’s risky given his age and that they’re already taking dead cap charges after 2017 from voidable years after 2017.

Another option would be completely rebuilding the secondary, a position they haven’t really addressed high in the NFL Draft. They haven’t used a first-round pick on a cornerback since 2002 and this year’s class of corners is very deep.

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

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