Bills Claim CB Darius Slay

Like Adam Thielen, Darius Slay did not clear waivers. The 34-year-old cornerback will be heading to Buffalo after the Bills made a successful claim, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

The Steelers cut Slay on Tuesday, ending a short stint. While the 13th-year veteran is attached to a one-year, $10MM deal, the Steelers are responsible for most of it. They included an $8.75MM signing bonus in a deal carrying a vet-minimum base salary. The Bills will only be responsible for barely $370K on this claim.

[RELATED: Joey Bosa Expected To Miss Time]

At the very least, Slay will provide Buffalo with an ultra-experienced depth option. Slay’s 176 starts at corner rank just outside the top 20 at the position throughout NFL history. He started nine games with the Steelers but ended his tenure as a healthy scratch against the Bills. Pittsburgh replaced Slay with in-season signing Asante Samuel Jr. The Bills were not among the teams to host Samuel on a visit, but they will proceed with Slay as a late-season add.

Gunning for its sixth straight AFC East title, Buffalo has an uphill battle thanks to New England’s 11-2 record. The Bills sit 8-4 and need help even in the event of a win in Foxborough next week. The Bills made multiple moves at corner this offseason, drafting Maxwell Hairston in Round 1 and reuniting with Tre’Davious White. The latter has worked as the primary starter opposite Christian Benford, lining up in that role in 11 of the Bills’ 12 games.

Pro Football Focus has graded Hairston as the superior option, though his 188 defensive snaps do not qualify him as a regular. PFF ranks White 83rd at the position, as the former All-Pro’s second-stint form pales in comparison to where he was in his prime. The Bills have Benford and Taron Johnson as two of the better options at their respective positions, but the CB2 area has been a question mark since Hairston’s summer LCL injury kept him from debuting until late October.

In White (30) and Slay, the Bills now have two 30-something corners. The latter is one of the most decorated active players at the position. While Slay missed out on All-Decade acclaim for the 2010s, he is a six-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro. The 6-foot boundary corner started in two Super Bowls with the Eagles, making a big impact in 2022 and ’24.

The Eagles used Slay as their No. 1 corner in 2022 and kept him as a starter despite drafting Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first and second rounds last year. Slay played 81% of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps last season. This waiver claim blocks the Eagles of what could have been an interesting reunion.

Slay’s $10MM price in free agency suggested there would be interested teams following his Pittsburgh exit, and while it will be interesting to learn if anyone else submitted a claim, his Steelers work left plenty to be desired. PFF graded Slay 71st among CBs this year, and Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics charged him with allowing a 75% completion rate as the closest defender — a sharp uptick from his 2024 number (54.7%).

A scheme transition will naturally provide optimism, as no two defenses are alike, and the Steelers giving him an 81% snap share does show a degree of dependability in Year 13. But this is obviously not a prime version of Slay the Bills are getting. The Bills have used some 30-somethings at corner under McDermott, who reunited with Josh Norman before doing the same with White. Slay joins Norman, Stephon Gilmore and Johnathan Joseph as the only corners 34 or older to see time this decade.

If nothing else, Slay provides the Bills with some high-profile insurance as they look to make an eighth playoff berth in the Sean McDermott era. Slay (28 career interceptions) said shortly after Super Bowl LIX he would likely retire after this season. The accomplished cover man now factors into a Super Bowl contender’s equation, making for an interesting career conclusion. Buffalo waived cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram to clear a roster spot. Ingram was a healthy scratch over the past three weeks.