According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a deal with former Philadelphia Eagles CB Darius Slay. There were reports that indicated he’d agreed to a contract earlier in the day that were later walked back, but now it seems like a done deal.
“Steelers have agreed to a deal with six-time Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay, per sources,” Dulac wrote on X. “Steelers DC Teryl Austin was Slay’s DC four years in Detroit.”
Pittsburgh has a history of employing high-pedigree cornerbacks near the end of their career. They got a one-year stint out of Patrick Peterson in 2023, and this will likely be a similar arrangement with Slay.
Because he is 34 years old, the Steelers are still likely to either add another piece at the position in free agency or pick a corner relatively high in the draft. Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. are two young pieces, but they still need more to fill out the depth and solidify the group long term.
Slay is technically still under contract with the Eagles as the new league year has not started, but they have already announced their intention to release him. They will likely make that official on Wednesday, at which point he can officially sign with the Steelers.
Because he is being released by the Eagles, he will not count against the compensatory draft pick formula. Justin Fields and Dan Moore Jr. have already signed two qualifying contracts to put the Steelers on the compensatory draft pick board. The addition of Slay will not affect that calculation.
Slay said last offseason that he would love to play for Mike Tomlin and that he was almost a Steeler in 2023 before the Eagles re-signed him. Now he will get the chance to do that at the end of his career.
He will also reunite with DC Teryl Austin, who held the same role for three of the first four years of Slay’s career with the Detroit Lions. He became a full-time starter under Austin, and they finished their time together with Slay’s first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selection in 2017 when Slay had eight interceptions and 26 passes defensed.
Slay is entering his 13th NFL season and has 160 passes defensed and 28 interceptions, which have earned him six Pro Bowl selections and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2017. He appeared in 14 games last season for the Eagles and made 49 total tackles and three tackles for loss. He also had 13 passes defensed and a forced fumble. It was the first season since his rookie year that he didn’t have an interception.
