The Super Bowl champion Eagles are reportedly parting with one of their top defenders in an effort to save salary cap space.
The Philadelphia Eagles are planning to release six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, NFL Network and ESPN reported.
Per the reports, Slay’s release will be designated as a post-June 1 transaction and save the Eagles $4.3 million against the salary cap next season. Per Spotrac, the Eagles have roughly $17.7 million in cap space available, the 20th-most in the NFL.
The emergence of rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean last season provided the Philadelphia the flexibility to release Slay.
A first-round draft pick, Mitchell started 16 games during his rookie campaign. DeJean, a second-round pick, started nine of the 16 regular-season games in which he played and recorded a pick 6 in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Slay, 34, is a 12-season NFL veteran who’s played his past five seasons in Philadelphia. He previously played seven seasons for the Detroit Lions.
Slay made three of his six Pro Bowls with Philadelphia from 2021-23. He started 14 games during the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl last season. He failed to record an interception last season for the first time since his rookie NFL campaign in 2013. He defended 13 passes.
For his career, Slay has 28 interceptions and 160 passes defended in 177 games. He led the NFL with eight interceptions and 26 passes defended in 2017 en route to earning first-team All-Pro honors with the Lions.
The Eagles have multiple key defenders set to hit free agency, including defensive linemen Josh Sweat and Milton Williams, and linebacker Zack Baun.
