Eagles discussed trading All-Pro CB to division rival

The Dallas Cowboys made a splash in their secondary today when they acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. Before they acquired the cornerback from the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas received a call from a division rival.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer (via Twitter), the Eagles reached out to the Cowboys about cornerback Darius Slay. While the Cowboys could theoretically carve out enough room to afford a pair of pricey cornerbacks, there’s a better chance the two potential moves were mutually exclusive, meaning Dallas preferred Gilmore.

Slay was recently granted permission to seek a trade out of Philly. It’s uncertain which side opted for divorce; there were reports that the Eagles wanted to keep the cornerback around and that Slay wanted to stay in Philadelphia. The most likely explanation is that the Eagles wanted Slay to take a pay cut, and both sides may be exhausting their options before the player gives in to a reduced contract or is cut.

One year remains on Slay’s Eagles extension, a three-year pact worth $50M. The 11th-year veteran is attached to a $17M base salary in 2023 and a lofty $26.1M cap number thanks to restructures in 2021 and 2022. No guaranteed money remains on the deal. The team could open up $17.5M in cap space by making Slay a post-June 1 cut.

Since joining the Eagles in 2020, the cornerback has earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods. This past season, Slay finished with 55 tackles, 14 passes defended, and three interceptions. He ended up landing at 21st among 118 qualifying cornerbacks in 2022, per Pro Football Focus ... a considerable drop from his fourth-place finish in 2021 but a significant jump from his grades in 2019 and 2020. For comparison’s sake, Gilmore finished this past season as PFF’s ninth-best CB.