Report: Eagles have allowed CB Darius Slay to seek a trade

According to ESPN NFL reporter Diana Russini, the Philadelphia Eagles have allowed Darius Slay and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, 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

Heading into the offseason, Slay was a prime restructure candidate. Per Spotrac, he’s scheduled to make $17M in base salary next year and account for $26.1M against the cap. He’ll be the highest paid player on the team in 2023 if a restructured contract isn’t agreed upon. Or, of course, if he’s traded.

Obviously, both sides would like to come to an agreement on a new deal. Slay has voiced his love for this city ever since he got here, and the Eagles can’t afford to lose another starter in their secondary. Three of the five primary starters are already set to become free agents – Marcus Epps, CJ Gardner-Johnson, and James Bradberry.

If the Eagles and Slay can’t come to an agreement, the team will likely use a post June 6th designation on any trade involving the Pro Bowl corner.

Trading Slay prior to 6/1 would incur a dead cap hit of $21.26M, while only saving $4.85M. A post 6/1 trade would incur a dead cap hit of $9.2M this year, along with an additional $12M the following year, but the team would save $16.8M against the cap this year.

Cap ramifications of a Darius Slay trade for the Eagles:

Trading CB Darius Slay

New Team Acquires
1 year, $17.5M ($0 GTD)#Eagles Dead Cap
Pre 6/1
$21.26M ($4.85M saved)

Post 6/1
2023: $9.2M ($16.8M)
2024: $12M

Slay will require a new contract on arrival.https://t.co/pMlYYMXF3V
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 10, 2023

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane provided additional context to the situation, reporting that Slay did not ask for a trade. It’s unclear who put out this information, but it’s an obvious negotiating tactic, per McLane.

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

McLane also suggests Slay is “as good as gone.” Which is… less than ideal.

We already knew the Eagles defense was going to look a lot different in 2023 with the shear amount of pending free agents on that side of the ball. Losing a defensive captain in Slay, along with several other key starters, is a tough pill to swallow. It’s the type of roster turnover that will take more than one offseason to complete.

It’ll be interesting to see what a potential Slay trade means for some of those pending free agents. Howie Roseman will have additional money to throw at some of the higher-priced free agents to be like CGJ or Javon Hargrave.