Report: Eagles plan to release Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay

According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the Philadelphia Eagles are planning to release Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay. After the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement on a restructured contract, Big Play Slay and Philly will part ways.

Eagles set to cut their CB1

Eagles and Darius Slay could not work out a restructured contract and he will be a free agent today at 4 pm, per sources. https://t.co/tA3UVv4MRW
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2023

After the team resigned CB James Bradberry on Tuesday to a three-year, $38M contract, the writing was on the wall for Slay. Initially, Slay was allowed to seek a trade, but after a handful of trades involving top-tier corners like Jalen Ramsey and Stephon Gilmore, the trade market for cornerbacks may have dried up.

Slay was due $17M in base salary in 2023 – a number the Eagles simply won’t be able to afford. Per Derrick Gunn, Slay was seeking a three-year fully guaranteed contract.

Sources say Darius Slay is asking for a 3yr guaranteed deal .. the eagles will not comply with that. If the birds cannot find a trade partner … they more than likely will cut him
— Derrick Gunn (@RealDGunn) March 15, 2023

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Eagles are designating Slay’s release as a post June 1 cut, meaning $13M of his cap hit will be pushed until next year, while only accounting for approximately $8M against the cap this year.

The #Eagles will designate CB Darius Slay as a post-6/1 release, source says, which would push over $13 million of his cap hit into 2024. He'll count $8 million and change against the 2023 cap.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 15, 2023

Per Spotrac, if the team were to cut Slay without the post June 1 designation, he’d incur a $21.2M dead cap hit this offseason while only saving about $4M in cap space. So, cutting Slay with the post 6/1 designation is obviously the right move.

Hopefully, the front office will now be able to retain safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. It would certainly soften the blow of losing arguably the best player in the Eagles secondary. Fingers crossed Howie can get it done.