There were a few weeks during the offseason where it appeared as if Darius Slay’s time with the Philadelphia Eagles was going to end. It almost did.
Slay revealed on his podcast this week that he was incredibly close to signing with the Baltimore Ravens.
Slay said the Ravens were the first team that called him when he hit the open market and that they had offered him everything he wanted. But Slay said that if the Eagles were willing to match that offer from Baltimore, then he was going to stay with the Eagles.
The Eagles ended up matching it.
“I was almost, this close, a Baltimore Raven,” said Slay. “I was this close. This close. But I wanted to be an Eagle, I stayed an Eagle, because I know me and Howie were going to figure something out. But the Baltimore Ravens were the first team that called, and they offered just what I wanted, and I just said, if the Eagles do that, I’m going to stay an Eagle. It was nice.”
Slay was under contract with the Eagles for the 2023 season but his salary cap number was going to be a problem for the team. At one point they gave him the opportunity to seek a trade, and then released him with the hope of signing him to a re-worked deal.
There was obviously a gamble with that as it nearly cost them a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, but there was a mutual desire from both sides to make it work. They did.
Slay has been with the Eagles since the start of the 2020 season and been a key part of their secondary.
The Eagles have lost quite a few players from their 2022 Super Bowl defense, including Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. But being able to keep Slay and James Bradberry on the outside is going to be key for their defense going into the 2023 season.
