The end of the 2025 season will not see Darius Slay play for the Bills after all. Buffalo claimed him off waivers yesterday, but that will not actually lead to a Bills stint. 
Slay is not reporting to the team, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. At this time, it is unclear if Slay will play again in the NFL. 2025 is widely believed to be his final season, one which did not include a full campaign spent with the Steelers as intended. Buffalo still retains Slay’s rights.
“Slay is honored that a first-class organization like the Bills claimed him, but he is going to take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing,” a statement from agent Drew Rosenhaus reads.
So far this season, Slay has made nine starts and 10 appearances. He fell out of the Steelers’ plans for the closing weeks of the campaign, however, and in the wake of Asante Samuel Jr.‘s arrival he was a healthy scratch this past week. Slay was positioned to provide Buffalo with CB depth down the stretch, but that will not be the case. Instead, attention will now turn to the possibility of an Eagles reunion.
Philadelphia put in a waiver claim, a sign of how willing the team would be to bring the six-time Pro Bowler back into the fold. Indeed, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports a “mutual interest” exists for another Eagles stint in this case. Slay would not be counted on to reprise his role as a starter in the event he were to play once again for the defending Super Bowl champions, but he could serve as a backup option the way trade acquisition Jaire Alexander was set to before he stepped away from football.
Slay has now elected to do the same, and it will be interesting to see what happens next in this case. The Bills will presumably place him on the reserve/retired list to avoid having him take up a roster spot. If Slay were to then be released, he could wind up signing with the Eagles in time for the stretch run. For now, though, it is unclear if the veteran of 198 combined regular season and playoff games will suit up again in the NFL.
If I were nearing retirement, the thought of playing outside in Buffalo starting in December would also make me consider shutting it down.
Yep. Here in CNY, it is mid-20s, windy, and snow flurries. Only going to get worse over the next month, lol
Brutal. My bones ache thinking about playing in that. I can only imagine what it’s like for a man who’s played well over 10,000 snaps in the NFL.
Buffalo is 12-2 at home the past 3 seasons in games played after November so clearly the cold, windy and snowy conditions play in their favor.
He was likely going to be inactive this week anyway, but he would have gotten time in the rotation. Meanwhile the Bills will likely sit on him rather than cut him and let the Eagles pick him up on wavers before their match in a couple of weeks.
He at least kinda pretended to want to play for the Steelers.
Ha
Better than retiring at half time like the other guy did a decade or so ago!