Darius Slay

Bills Claim Darnell Savage, Place Darius Slay On Reserve/Retired List

December 5th, 2025 at 10:17pm CST by Adam La Rose

As of Darius Slay‘s most recent remarks on his situation, he had not yet been moved to the Bills’ reserve/retired list. That is now taking place, though.

Buffalo is making the expected procedural move, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This ensures Slay will not play for the Bills while opening a roster spot in the process. The team has not waited long to find a replacement in the secondary.

Darnell Savage has been claimed off waivers, per Rapoport. Savage joined the Commanders in September shortly after his Jaguars release. After not seeing much in the way of playing time in Washington, however, the former first-rounder requested to be let go. The Commanders granted it, moving Savage to the waiver wire. Instead of reaching free agency for the second time during the season, he will now (presumably, at least) head to Buffalo. Both moves are now official, per a team announcement.

Slay’s Steelers tenure came to an end after Asante Samuel Jr. signed with Pittsburgh. Reversing his intra-Pennsylvania switch from the offseason seemed to be in store at the time, and Philadelphia put in a waiver claim. With a reported mutual interest between Slay and the Eagles regarding a reunion, many have pointed to the parties reconnecting as a possibility. For now, though, Slay’s rights still belong to the Bills.

Savage, 28, made eight appearances with the Commanders but played only a rotational role on defense. His workload was set to shrink even further with Will Harris returning to the fold. Given this move, Savage will have a brief opportunity to carve out a role of some kind in Buffalo. With the Bills sitting at 8-4, he will at least have a much better chance of seeing postseason action compared to finishing out the year in the nation’s capital.

The Bills currently rank fist in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (163). Issues against the run could remain down the stretch, but the team’s secondary will be a unit continuing to face high relatively high expectations. Savage could chip in for the closing stages of the campaign and in doing so provide a slight boost to his free agent value.

Darius Slay Weighing Future; Retirement On Table?

December 5th, 2025 at 2:16pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Veteran cornerback Darius Slay is still weighing his options regarding his future in the NFL.

He was waived by the Steelers after they added Asante Samuel Jr. and declined to report to the Bills after they claimed him off waivers. However, Slay’s former team, the Eagles, also put in a waiver claim, and he may have preferred to return to Philadelphia.

A statement issued by Slay’s agent after he did not report to Buffalo said that the 34-year-old “is going to take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing,” suggesting that retirement is an option. Slay said before the 2025 season that it would likely be his last.

However, this standoff could also be a play to be released by the Bills and get to Philadelphia. Other teams would be unlikely to place a waiver claim and potentially put them in the same situation as Buffalo, so the Eagles would be able to win their claim.

Slay declined to say whether or not he would have reported to the Eagles had he been assigned to them.

“Mostly, it’s a family decision kind of to it,” Slay said on the Speakeasy (via ESPN’s Alana Getzenberg). “So, we just see how it goes though. But I’m going to take it day by day.”

Typically, teams work with veteran players when they wish to hit free agency, but Slay’s potential attempt to get to one specific team could rub the Bills the wrong way. They may also feel burnt after waiving cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram to clear a roster spot for Slay. Ingram was claimed off waivers, and head coach Sean McDermott said (via Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic) that they were hoping to get him back on their practice squad.

That would have kept Ingram available to fill the role that Slay is currently refusing to take on. Instead, the Bills will have to look to other cornerbacks to provide depth in their secondary.

McDermott called the situation “unfortunate” but declined to offer any more details.

Darius Slay Will Not Report To Bills; CB’s Future Uncertain

December 4th, 2025 at 10:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

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.

Eagles Made Darius Slay Waiver Claim

December 4th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Adam La Rose

Darius Slay saw his Steelers tenure come to an end this week, but he did not reach free agency. The Bills put in a waiver claim to add him for the remainder of the season.

If not for that, a Philadelphia reunion could have been in store. The Eagles also put in a waiver claim for Slay, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Both teams sport a record of 8-4, but the Bills had the higher waiver priority.

In the event the Eagles’ bid had been successful, Slay would have been able to rejoin his former team for the stretch run. The 34-year-old spent five seasons (2020-24) in Philadelphia, collecting three of his six career Pro Bowl nods during that time. After one year playing alongside Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, Slay was released this past offseason. That set up a one-year, $10MM Steelers pact which did not work out as hoped.

Expectations will be low in Slay’s case upon arrival in Buffalo, and the same no doubt would have been true had he returned to Philadelphia. The former All-Pro has not enjoyed a productive 2025 season, and Pittsburgh’s Asante Samuel Jr. signing prompted his exit. Nevertheless, Slay would have given the Eagles a familiar face in the secondary, one which has already seen several in-season changes take place.

General manager Howie Roseman was busy on the trade front leading up to last month’s deadline. That included deals with the Jets for Michael Carter II and with the Ravens for Jaire Alexander. The latter has since been moved to the reserve/retired list, so a Slay reunion would have allowed for him to occupy a depth corner role on the perimeter. Instead, Slay will spend the remainder of what is likely to be his final NFL season with the Bills.

Meanwhile, the Eagles will move forward with Mitchell, DeJean and Adoree’ Jackson as key figures in the secondary. As the team looks to rebound from two straight losses, it will do so without late-season reinforcements.

Bills Claim CB Darius Slay

December 3rd, 2025 at 10:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

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.

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.

Steelers To Waive CB Darius Slay

December 2nd, 2025 at 11:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The rare modern cornerback to play an age-34 season, Darius Slay will see his time with the Steelers end earlier than expected. Pittsburgh is moving on from the veteran defender.

This is being described as a mutual parting, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Pittsburgh will sign fellow corner Asante Samuel Jr. from the practice squad to fill Slay’s roster spot. Slay was a healthy scratch for the Steelers’ Week 13 game against the Bills, foreshadowing this decision.

Slay is interested in continuing his career, but he will need to wait a bit before being allowed to pick his next destination. Although Slay is on a one-year, $10MM deal, the two-time Super Bowl starter’s base salary is the veteran minimum (for his service time) at $1.26MM. That would not put a waiver claim off the table for a corner-needy club. If Slay is unclaimed by 3pm CT on Wednesday, he will head back to free agency.

The NFL’s oldest active corner, Slay had viewed this as most likely his final season. The 13th-year cover man reunited with ex-Lions DC Teryl Austin in Pittsburgh and started nine games. Pro Football Focus viewed Slay on the fringes of the middle class at the position, slotting him 71st out of 110 qualified options.

Slay has certainly played much better, as he enjoyed a quality prime. As evidenced from a free agency deal requiring $10MM, Slay generated interest when the Eagles cut him this offseason. It would not shock if he landed elsewhere to close one of the better CB careers in this era.

As we discussed in a Trade Rumors Front Office piece this offseason, the Steelers have not been shy about deploying aging corners. They traded for Jalen Ramsey this offseason, doing so two years after being Patrick Peterson‘s last stop; the future Hall of Famer played an age-33 season in Pittsburgh. The Mike Tomlin tenure has also seen Joe Haden, William Gay and Ike Taylor play into their 30s. With the Steelers residing at a crossroads following a one-sided loss to the Bills — a game that brought steady boos and calls for Tomlin’s ouster — they are shaking up their secondary.

The Steelers have experimented with Ramsey at safety, but Slay has continued to work in the boundary corner position — one that brought him considerable success since being a 2013 Lions draftee. Slay logged 422 outside CB snaps during a 10-game Steelers stint. The six-time Pro Bowler broke up three passes and did not log an interception. Slay did allow a 75% completion rate and a 108.0 passer rating as the closest defender. While he is charged with only one touchdown allowed as a Steeler, his performance fell short of expectations ahead of the healthy scratch.

Tuesday’s transaction also blocks other teams from making sales pitches to Samuel, who could have been poached from Pittsburgh’s practice squad. Added after an extensive visit tour last month, Samuel debuted for the Steelers — as a practice squad elevation — in Week 13. He played 28 defensive snaps in a backup role.

With teams seeing Samuel healthy, interest may well have come after he reverted back to the practice squad. But the 26-year-old CB is now on the 53-man roster, ending such speculation. The team will hope the four-year Chargers starter, whose free agency stalled because of neck surgery, can help out a pass defense ranking 28th.

Steelers, CB Darius Slay Agree To Deal

March 12th, 2025 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Darius Slay‘s Steelers agreement is now final. After being rumored to be close to landing the veteran cornerback, Pittsburgh will indeed bring in the two-time Super Bowl starter.

The team is adding Slay on a one-year, $10MM pact, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal comes fully guaranteed for Slay, who turned 34 shortly before the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win. Slay will join running back Kenneth Gainwell in changing Pennsylvania addresses this week. Slay will also rejoin ex-Lions DC Teryl Austin in Pittsburgh.

This deal comes minutes after the 2025 league year starting greenlit Slay’s official Philadelphia exit. The Eagles had planned to cut Slay for a bit, but teams cannot designate players as post-June 1 releases until 3pm CT today. The Steelers waited a bit, but they have added a boundary starter opposite Joey Porter Jr. The player who primarily worked in that role last season, Donte Jackson, joined the Chargers this week.

While this transaction will officially end the biannual Darius Slay-Darius Slayton divisional matchup, Slay did well to secure an opportunity quickly at an age when most corners are long retired. The batch of corners that topped this year’s free agent market were in their late 20s, scoring nice third contracts after smartly inking two- or three-year deals previously.

This is Slay’s fourth contract, illustrating the talent the ex-Eagles and Lions defender has displayed. He played two seasons on a three-year, $39MM Eagles accord, but after Philly drafted first- and second-round CBs last year, they bid farewell to Super Bowl LVII starters Slay and James Bradberry.

Bradberry missed all of last season, but Slay was in place as the veteran corner giving the Eagles experience while Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean acclimated. Slay started all 14 games he played last season and logged an 81% snap rate. That was slightly down from his previous seasons, though given Slay’s age and the Eagles’ deep CB depth chart last season, it makes sense. Slay, however, played at least 85% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in each of their four playoff games — including an 88% Super Bowl LIX rate.

Pittsburgh had given Patrick Peterson a chance to play an age-33 season in 2023; the Steelers will bet on Slay having one more good year in the tank. Slay has planned for 2025 to be his finale. If so, he will work in a familiar system, as the six-time Pro Bowler began his ascent under Austin in Detroit. Austin coached the Lions’ defense from 2014-17; Slay’s issues with the Lions came after Matt Patricia‘s 2018 arrival. Patricia played a central role in the Eagles’ defensive descent in 2023, but Slay had signed off on a reunion. After the Eagles moved back on track with Vic Fangio, Slay reestablished momentum to gain a shot at a rare age-34 CB season.

Steelers In Talks With CB Darius Slay

March 10th, 2025 at 1:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

Darius Slay may not be moving very far as he prepares for the 2025 season. The All-Pro corner is on the Steelers’ radar, with Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reporting a one-year agreement is in place.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network cautions that Slay has still not yet been released by the Eagles and that no Pittsburgh arrangement has been worked out yet. The sides are in communication, however. The Eagles had been prepared to give Slay a post-June 1 release designation.

If the Eagles are unable to pry a low-level asset from the Steelers, the veteran corner looks to have a landing spot. Slay turned 34 in January, but he is coming off playing a starting role during the Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl LIX victory. Slay spent five seasons as an Eagles starter, coming over after a trade with the Lions.

Philadelphia used first- and second-round picks on corners (Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean), and both players impressed as rookies. Slay, however, maintained a regular role for a No. 1-ranked defense. Slay played 81% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps last season and was on the field for 88% of the team’s defensive plays in Super Bowl LIX. The 12-year veteran has 28 career interceptions.

The Steelers, who have a recent history with older corners thanks to their Patrick Peterson addition, lost Donte Jackson to the Chargers today and have Cameron Sutton unsigned. The team still has Joey Porter Jr. under contract for two more seasons but now needs a boundary starter alongside Porter and slot Beanie Bishop.

Slay could fit the bill as a temporary fix, and he has a past with Steelers DC Teryl Austin. Formerly the Lions’ DC, Austin was in place in that role for four seasons. That stay overlapped with Slay’s Motor City tenure, and it it would stand to reason if Austin has provided a strong recommendation here. Slay’s eventual exit will make for three impact Eagles defenders to leave in free agency; Milton Williams and Josh Sweat found new homes today.

Eagles To Release Darius Slay

March 3rd, 2025 at 11:28pm CST by Adam La Rose

Darius Slay‘s decorated tenure with the Eagles is coming to an end. The Pro Bowl corner will be released, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Such a scenario has been raised recently, meaning the move does not come as a complete surprise. Eyeing one more year in the NFL, Slay will now need to find a new home for the second time in his career. Schefter notes this will be processed as a post-June 1 cut.

As a result, the Eagles will see $4.32MM in cap savings while generating a dead money charge of $9.44MM which can be spread across two years. No guaranteed salary remained on Slay’s pact for 2025, the final year of the deal. By moving on this offseason, Philadelphia will avoid paying out an option bonus of roughly $5MM which was due on September 1. Slay will officially become a free agent at the start of the new league year.

A seven-year stint with the Lions ended in 2020 when Slay was traded to the Eagles. He was a stalwart in the secondary during his time in Philadelphia, collecting three of his six Pro Bowl nods during that span. Of course, Slay’s tenure with the team will be best remembered for the two Super Bowl appearances – including one title – he played a central role in.

Slay’s time with the Eagles appeared to be coming to an end in 2023, but an agreement was reached allowing him to remain in the fold. The former All-Pro racked up between one and three interceptions during each of his first four Philadelphia campaigns, but he was held without one during the regular season in 2024. Slay was nevertheless a key figure on the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl. Still, the decision to use first- and second-round picks on the CB position in last year’s draft (Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean) foreshadowed a parting of ways.

While Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz notes an Eagles reunion (at a reduced cost compared to the $16MM Slay was owed for 2025) could be in play, the team has other young options to turn to. Mitchell, DeJean and Kelee Ringo are all attached to their rookie contracts; Isaiah Rodgers is a pending free agent but retaining him on a low-cost deal could be a priority for Philadelphia. As the team continues to transition to a younger secondary, Slay should still have a notable market.

Any number of suitors will pursue starting-caliber options at the cornerback position, and even at the age of 34 Slay could serve as an effective one-year rental. The Mississippi State product preferred to finish his career with the Eagles, but he recently noted a return to the Lions represented his next-best scenario. Carlton Davis is a pending free agent, and losing him would leave Detroit in need of a first-team replacement.

Failing that, other teams could emerge especially since Slay will be available on a one-year pact (provided he intends to stick to his stated timeline of retiring after the 2025 campaign). It will be interesting to see where his final NFL campaign takes place.

Eagles Expected To Move On From CB Darius Slay, Re-Sign CB Isaiah Rodgers?

February 23rd, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Rory Parks

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay has indicated he wants to retire at the end of the upcoming season. He also said he would like to finish his playing career with Philadelphia, and his contract with the club does run through 2025.

However, there has been some question as to whether the Eagles will retain the six-time Pro Bowler, and according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com, the club is not expected to bring Slay back. Given the high quality of Slay’s performance even as he nears the end of his career – he limited opposing passers to an 81.9 QB rating in 2024 and finished with a strong 73.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus – one would think that such a decision would be largely motivated by salary cap considerations.

But releasing or trading Slay prior to June 1 would result in a dead money charge of $22.71MM and would actually decrease Philadelphia’s cap space. Even a post-June 1 maneuver would create only $4.32MM of space while still saddling the team with over $9MM of dead money.

That makes Shorr-Parks’ report even more intriguing, especially since fellow corner Isaiah Rodgers is an impending free agent. Shorr-Parks believes the Eagles could have bigger plans for Rodgers, who saw a modest 36% snap share in 2024 after serving a year-long suspension in 2023 for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.

Despite the somewhat limited action, Rodgers played well last season, finishing as PFF’s 24th-best corner out of 116 qualified players (just one spot below Slay, albeit in a considerably smaller sample size). One of the biggest reasons for Philadelphia’s turnaround from its one-and-done showing in the 2023 playoffs to a Super Bowl title in 2024 was the improvement of its pass defense, and Rodgers – along with rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean – was a key addition to the secondary.

Shorr-Parks suggests Rodgers – who is a popular and vocal player – could be retained on a fairly modest two-year contract worth around $10MM. He could also take over Slay’s role and play opposite Mitchell as a starting boundary corner, which would allow Super Bowl hero DeJean to remain in the slot. The team is still rostering 2023 fourth-rounder Kelee Ringo as well, and he could at least compete for the CB2 gig (though defensive coordinator Vic Fangio appears to prefer Rodgers to Ringo).

If the Eagles do move on from Slay, the longtime Lion has said he would like to return to Detroit. The Lions could certainly be in the market for CB help, particularly if Carlton Davis departs in free agency.

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