Jettisoning Darius Slay saves Eagles big money
With no trade partners for a perennial Pro Bowl corner and little money under the cap, the Eagles are releasing Darius Slay. How much will they save? Check the date.
Thanks to over $9 million in bonus clauses, Slay carried a cap hit of over $26 million for 2023, more than any player on the roster. But with some fancy bookkeeping, the team can get most of that money back.
Releasing Slay in March still leaves Philadelphia with over $22 million in dead money, saving them less than $4 million against next year’s cap. But if the team designates Slay as a post-June 1 cut, it can save over $17 million against the cap with less than $9 million in dead cap money.
That’s exactly what NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo believes the Eagles will do. And why not? Once Philadelphia decided to bring back James Bradberry on a three-year, $38 million contract, the team needed money and Slay’s $17 million base salary made keeping both practically impossible.
On the field, the team could pay a price for releasing one of the league’s top cornerbacks. It was Slay, not Bradberry, who typically covered the opponent’s best receiver. The two had similar numbers in 2022, but Bradberry’s job will be much harder without Slay on the field.
Now it’s Eagles’ general manager Howie Roseman’s job to find Slay’s replacement. Josiah Scott and Zech McPhearson remain on the roster but Scott has just eight passes defended since 2020 and McPhearson has two in as many seasons.
Of course, the team can always find a cost-effective cornerback in the draft. Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez or Penn State's Joey Porter Jr. could be available with the 10th pick, but Philadelphia hasn’t drafted a first-round cornerback since Lito Sheppard in 2002. Given the team’s situation, maybe it’s time.
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