Last offseason the Philadelphia Eagles lost one of their rocks on offense with All-Pro center Jason Kelce retiring. Whether their 2024 season ends in tomorrow's NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl 59, they could be saying goodbye to one of their defensive stars in the weeks to come.
Taking to X on Friday, Ashlyn Sullivan of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Pro Bowl cornerback is Darius Slay believes that tomorrow's game will be his final home game at Lincoln Financial Field. Slay said that he is leaning towards playing one more season, but believes it "most likely won't be with the Eagles."
Slay is a 13-year veteran and six-time Pro Bowler who joined the Eagles in 2020 and has been a big reason that the team's enjoyed so much defensive success in that span.
"Darius Slay is preparing for Sunday to be his last home game at Lincoln Financial field. Slay told me this week after having conversations with his family, he is 85% leaning towards playing one more season, but understands it most likely won’t be with the Eagles. When I asked him about the emotion of playing his last home game this weekend, he said he isn’t allowing himself to get caught up in the future. Slay confirms he will definitely not play more than 13 seasons in the NFL and looks forward to watching Eagles games from a box… not in the snow… in the near future," Sullivan wrote.
Slay played his first seven NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions and joined the Eagles in a stunning trade in 2020 despite three straight Pro Bowl seasons.
In 2017, Slay led the NFL with eight interceptions and 26 passes defended, earning his first Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors.
Slay's first year with the organization was underwhleming as the team dealt with tons of internal issues, culminating in the firing of head coach Doug Pederson at the end of the 2020 season. But he led an improved defense over the next couple of years and reached his first Super Bowl in 2022.
The Eagles will certainly miss Slay if and when he leaves the team, but they currently have some pretty good up-and-coming players on the defense who seem equipped to fill in for him down the line.
He will be missed, but maybe not in terms of on-field production.
