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Big Play Slay Retires from Football
Published:
Darius Slay is retiring, according to himself:
That is a pretty dope edit. From the jerseys and the trophies to the highlights and everything else.
Talk about a great career. Slay was 2nd team All-SEC, a second round draft pick who went on to play 13 NFL seasons for three different teams. He went to six Pro Bowls, was a first-team All Pro for the Lions, and won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles. He’ll finish his professional career with 29 interceptions, 171 PBUs, and 198 games played. He was largely healthy and consistent for most of his career and it was the 2020 Eagles/Lions trade that really solidified the Birds’ secondary after years of lackluster play. They did not have a bona fide CB1 when Slay came in, and his partnerships with James Bradberry and Quinyon Mitchell helped the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances, including a blowout in SB59.
That’s probably the big takeaway when it comes to Slay. The Birds were building this thing back up after firing Doug Pederson. Jalen Hurts became QB1 and Howie nailed the additions of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Jalen Carter and all of these guys, but Slay was a big, early piece in getting the team turned around after the pandemic. Before him, it was Jalen Mills, Sidney Jones, Ronald Darby, etc . – none of whom were going to be CB1 or CB2 material in the years following Super Bowl 57.
Good luck to Slay, and thanks for the content also. He gave us some great material to work with. Maybe a listicle for tomorrow.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com