Philadelphia Eagles veteran cornerback Darius Slay has heard the rumors that he could be on the trade block. On Saturday, the five-time Pro Bowler commented on the situation for the first time.
After news broke earlier this week that the Eagles had permitted Slay to seek a trade due to a contract dispute, he downplayed the chatter and reiterated that he isn’t trying to push his way out of Philly.
“I just wanted to let my fans know Slay did not ask for a trade,” Slay said via The Volume. “But this is part of the business. There’s no bad blood against neither one of us, me or Howie [Roseman]. None of that. We’re all good. It’s just the business part of it.”
Slay also confirmed that he wanted to play the rest of his career with the Eagles but sounded prepared to start a new chapter elsewhere if the two sides cannot find common ground this offseason.
“Best believe, I do want to be an Eagle,” Slay said. “But, you know, if my job requires me to go elsewhere, I’ll go.”
The 32-year-old has one year remaining on a three-year, $50M contract. However, Slay is due a $17M base salary with a $26.1M cap hit in 2023. Unsurprisingly, the Eagles hope Slay will restructure his deal, but the sides haven’t reached an answer for the issue yet.
While plenty of NFL teams presumably value Slay enough to trade for him, it’s doubtful they’d be willing to deal away assets and take on his cap hit for next season.
The Eagles can save $17.5M in cap space if they trade Slay after June 1, but reworking his deal doesn’t sound like it’s off the table. Figuring things out seems beneficial for both sides. Slay wants to stay, and the Eagles undoubtedly want to keep him, just not at his current price.
We’ll have to wait and see if the Eagles and Slay continue their partnership, but with free agency and the new league year approaching, a resolution is probably coming soon.
