Eagles Release Darius Slay After They Were Unable to Trade Him
Eagles fans got quite the shock last Friday when the news came out that the Eagles gave Darius Slay permission to seek a trade. But even with that news, the word was he could still return. But now we know that will not be happening. The Eagles have released Darius Slay after they were unable to work out a trade or come to an agreement on a new contract for the Pro Bowl Cornerback,
[Source: Adam Schefter]
Breaking: The Eagles plan to release CB Darius Slay, sources tell @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/2m6YNL591l
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2023
Many figured something was up when the Eagles brought back James Bradberry. And now we know that Bradberry was brought back in place of retaining Darius Slay. Slay apparently was asking for a new 3-year deal. But the Eagles were not willing to give him that. So instead he will be released, and free to seek that deal elsewhere. According to Jeff McLane, the deal will count as a post-June 1st release. Per Spotrac, that means they will save $16,856,000 towards the cap this year. But it will count as a $12,010,000 dead cap hit in 2024. If they counted it as a Pre 6/1 release, the Eagles would take a dead cap hit of $21,265,000, and save $4,846,000.
Slay originally joined the Eagles back in 2020. They gave up a 3rd and 5th round pick for him, before signing him to a 3-year extension. This was supposed to be his final year of the deal, and the first year he carried a significant cap hit. but the Eagles were not willing to have him for such a large hit (over $26 million) and Darius Slay was not willing to play on an expiring deal. The two sides could not agree on a new deal, so he is not out of Philly.
The deal frees up money for them to now potentially bring back CJ Gardner-Johnson. So the Eagles now go from potentially losing both Bradberry and Gardner-Johnson to keeping both and losing Slay.
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