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.
That doesn’t mean a guy late in his career wants to move there in December.
If a guy just wants to stay warm and be a loser he could spend his Decembers in Vegas 🙂
Pittsburgh is not exactly Tropical!!
It isn’t, but things weren’t exactly going great there. Not that Philly is warm or domed either, but he spent years there and won a ring there.
It’s 40 down here in Georgia and windy and I wouldn’t want to play just imagine Buffalo lol
So it’s not cold,rainy, or possibly snowy weather in Philly….may not be Buffalo but wear cold weather gear man…another spoiled athlete who is too used to getting their way….not this time..
To be clear, I’m the one who brought up weather, not Slay. Some of you guys can’t talk about pro athletes without sounding like you want to send them to bed without supper. The man’s played just under 200 NFL games. He’s made six Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. If he doesn’t feel like going to a particular city when he’s been mulling retirement anyway, that doesn’t make him Veruca Salt.
A reasonable comment, what a breath of fresh air.
I agree that Buffalo in winter is no fun, especially on old bones. May be a health issue. Slay could play somewhere warmer or in a dome but outside in December/January threatens injury or poor play.
Slay has made a lot of money in his laureled career. He’d make a few million more going to Buffalo. But if he doesn’t want to do it, he’s free to retire. Buffalo has no particular rights to force someone to play, waiver claim or not.
What you say does make sense…however the NFL isn’t a Democracy….there’s rules and you can’t normally can’t just choose what team and where you want to play…..and who/what the heck is Veruca Salt
You can absolutely choose not to play. He’s close to requirement. Saying no thank you is an option.
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.
If Howie wants him…make him pay via a draft choice for him…
Howie may be a miracle worker, but even he cannot make a trade after the NFL deadline (which passed a few weeks ago).
He at least kinda pretended to want to play for the Steelers.
Called getting a paycheck…
Slay seems like a decent guy who I think was trying… but he’s lost more steps than the Steelers anticipated. They tried, it just didn’t work out.
Ha
Better than retiring at half time like the other guy did a decade or so ago!
I think he wants to ask Buffalo to send him to Philly. He should want a chance to help Buffalo.
Trade deadline passed
Vontae Davis is the goat of paycheck collections.
If you have time look up the video of lesean mccoy and tre white making fun of him.
He is giving up a 100+ QB Rating and allowing a 75% completion rating on balls thrown his way. Probably knows he isn’t there anymore and should just let this be the end.
So he was really hoping it would just be the Eagles that claimed him, and instead Buffalo stepped in and thwarted his plans. Got it. Hope Buffalo holds onto to him the rest of the year and doesn’t allow the Eagles to bring him back.
Worst case…make Howie buy him back via a draft choice…..
Trade deadline passed…not possible
Appears he was already retired and Pittsburgh just pushed the ejection button. Last thing you need is a veteran trying not to hurt himself for a check.
Agreed. The dude retired as soon as he signed the $10 contract Pittsburgh gave him.
Honestly, it looked like he made “business decisions” to avoid contact all season. He barely showed up.
I am amazed at the number of people who act like football experts on here yet they have no idea you cannot trade a player after the trade deadline?
Buffalo could still “waive” him, allowing him to go to Philly …
They could, but could also keep him on the roster until after the Philly game to limit their depth, too.
So do the Bills get to undo cutting Ja’Marcus Ingram? He wasn’t making the Pro Bowl, but a guy familiar with your system has a lot of value that they thought they had replaced. Now they’re without both guys?
The Texans grabbed him after the Slay news today.
OK, since he is claimed by Buffalo but will not report, who is on the hook for remaining salary? Or no one since he made the choice not to play?
I’m guessing no one. I believe he would’ve been paid $833,000 per game, just for showing up.
But then again, the guy hasn’t shown up all season.
If the Bills put him on the reserve list he would still count against their cap, but they wouldn’t have to actually pay him for each game he misses. They could go after a prorated portion of his 8.745MM signing bonus, for each game missed. Kind of a quirk because they didn’t pay it, Pittsburgh did, but Buffalo now owns the contract rights.
If he retires, I believe the Bills will receive some relief, but not sure when.
Would you want to get exposed for a 3rd time this season by Jamar Chase and or Tee Higgins?
JFC the dude is playing his final season of pro ball; just let him go sign with the team he wants to be with for his final snaps. If he wants to play for Philly, Buffalo should just release the guy and every other team next in the waiver line needs to step aside and let him drop to the Eagles.
Why? Buffalo lost a guy to bring him in. Why should they take it on the chin here? Why didn’t his agent float it out there it was Philly or bust prior to him being claimed? He should show up or go home. Buffalo should play hard ball and recoup some of the signing bonus so that they didn’t lose Ingram for nothing. Its a business, not a book club.
Yeah, in fact, they should’ve asked if he wanted to come to Buffalo. Maybe do some due diligence and see if a player is amenable to showing up before grabbing him from the waiver wire. And Buffalo isn’t taking anything on the chin here. They don’t owe the guy any money if Slay doesn’t show up. Pitt is responsible for all of the cost other than game day checks… which Slay is not earning by doing exactly what you said he should do- “go home.” Releasing Ingram doesn’t even register as a loss. Hell, when it happened in the first place, you called it a “nothing-burger move.”
And your suggestion Buffalo should try to recoup signing bonus they didn’t even pay out in the first place just because Slay doesn’t want to end his career in Buffalo is the kind of misguided, over-reactive, lame suggestion so typical of these comment sections. Yes, great idea, treat Slay like crap and punish him just because he doesn’t want to do something he didn’t ask for in the first place. So hilariously melodramatic. Go join a book club; it would do you some good.
They cant reach out to a player another team controls.
There is a provision in the CBA that allows teams to recoup signing bonuses when players refuse to report. Doesnt matter that Pittsburgh paid it, Buffalo assumed the contract. They now have the right to enforce it’s terms.
Slay and his agent should have a copy of the cba, as would any employee subject to collective bargaining. He should already know he’s risking a piece of the signing bonus. He’s made his bones and probably doesn’t care one way or the other.
Its not punishment, it’s enforcing the contract.
The Bills play the Eagles in three weeks so it’s possible that could have something to do with it.