All-Pro cornerback Darius Slay could be on the move after Dianna Russini reported that the Eagles have granted the veteran permission to seek a trade.
The Philadelphia Eagles have allowed Darius Slay's agent Drew Rosenhaus to seek a trade, per sources. The Eagles are still hopeful to find a solution where Slay remains an Eagle.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 10, 2023
A team leader and first-time captain in 2022, Slay started in all 17 regular season games played, logging 55 tackles, 14 pass deflections, and three interceptions.
Slay earned the fifth Pro Bowl selection of his career and is looking to play at least two-three more seasons.
With that news breaking, here are four takeaways with notes.
Slay didn't seek a trade
The Eagles cornerback didn’t seek the trade, and last week told the Montgomery & Co Podcast that he was hopeful for an extension that keeps him in Philadelphia.
It appears both sides could be far apart on the financials with the cornerback set to be 33 when the season starts.
Darius Slay didn’t ask the #Eagles for permission to shop a trade, an NFL source said. Unclear if the team put out this info, but clearly this is part of negotiating tactics.
Suggest the door isn’t closed on a restructure. https://t.co/49d9MWRxZH
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) March 10, 2023
If Slay can find a better deal with more years, he’s as good as gone.
Financial implications
According to Over The Cap, Philadelphia would save $3,702,000 by trading Slay while taking on $22,409,000 in dead money that’ll likely be spread over several seasons.
A contract restructure makes the most sense and would save the Eagles $12 million without the dead money hit.
Roster impact
Losing Slay would put a huge dent in a secondary that helped the defense amass a top-five ranking in several categories last season.
An exodus of Bradberry and Slay would leave Avonte Maddox as the only cornerback on the roster with meaningful game experience.
Eagles defense could have 9 new starters
With 9 key contributors on defense set to hit free agency and the news of Slay potentially getting traded, the Eagles could enter 2023 with 9 or 10 new starters on the defensive side of the football.
Josh Sweat and Avonte Maddox are automatic starters on the roster, but Philadelphia could lose Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Kyzir White, T.J. Edwards, Slay, James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Marcus Epps to name a few.
