Darius Slay Leaves Lasting Impact in Eagles History Following Retirement Announcement

The city of Philadelphia and Eagles fans everywhere will always remember Big Play Slay.

Six years ago, following a 9-7 campaign where they squeaked into the playoffs and a first-round playoff loss, the Philadelphia Eagles were at a standstill on what direction they wanted to take the franchise heading into a new decade. Just two years removed from a Super Bowl victory, the team’s roster was on the decline, and it needed help.

They were led by Doug Pederson, at the time the only man to ever deliver them a Super Bowl, and Carson Wentz, the man they thought would be their franchise quarterback for the decade. While those two things seemed locked and loaded, the rest of the roster had many holes.

On offense, the group lacked any real star-skilled position players, as, other than Zach Ertz, the team had nobody they could rely on to make a big play. At that time, Fox Sports media personality Colin Cowherd famously said that Wentz was throwing to “deck chairs and lawn furniture” when talking about the Eagles receiving core.

With the offense in an interesting place, you then look at the defensive side of the ball. It was a group of meh players surrounded by a group of declining stars in Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, with the secondary led by the team’s captain, Malcolm Jenkins. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Jenkins would leave the team that offseason in free agency, leaving them without really any star power in the secondary.

Well, Howie Roseman did what he did best: he got on the phone and made a trade for, at the time, one of the most underrated corners in all of football, Darius Slay. Roseman acquired Slay from the Lions for a third and fifth-round pick in that spring’s draft and agreed to a new three-year deal with the corner, locking him in Philadelphia for the next number of years.

This was a huge move for the Eagles, as it had been years, really, since Asante Samuel and some would argue since Lito Sheppard, that the team had a true lockdown No. 1 corner. Through all the busts, all the Nnamdi Asomugha‘s and Byron Maxwell‘s, the Eagles finally had someone who could lock down the top receivers in the NFC, and especially in the NFC East.

However, Slay’s first season in midnight green didn’t go as he and Eagles fans had hoped, as the team went 4-11-1, fired Pederson, and traded Wentz to the Colts. Yes, the Eagles fired the only head coach to win them a Super Bowl less than three years earlier, and traded the quarterback who nearly won MVP, was drafted No. 2 overall, and had just signed a brand-new contract extension.

The team was going through a partial rebuild, a move that likely needed to happen to get the Eagles back to the top of the NFL. Now, what the Eagles could’ve done is get rid of all of the veterans, start all young, and rebuild the team. However, they didn’t do that, they used thier veterans leadership to will this team into the franchise they are today.

Through that time, the main people who get credited with helping improve this team through its semi-rebuild are the guys who were around for the first Super Bowl win: Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Graham, and Cox. All of those guys 100% were a large part of making the Eagles a top-tier and world-class organization, but a name that falls through the cracks is Slay.

Following the disaster of the 2020 season, Slay could’ve easily said that the Eagles weren’t for him, moved on after one year, and closed out his career with another contending team. However, he stayed in the city of Brotherly Love, through the good times and the bad, and continued to produce at a high level.

Slay earned three Pro Bowl honors as an Eagle, totaling 272 total tackles, 56 pass deflections, 11 tackles for loss, nine interceptions, two being pick-sixes, and forcing one fumble, all in just 74 games played. He was the top guy for the Eagles, helping them to not one but two Super Bowl appearances, winning the latter battle in New Orleans.

Not only did he help the Eagles win with his play, but Slay also helped in another way. He helped by teaching the next generation of Eagles corners on how to be stars in this league. The Eagles had two rookie corners join the team in 2024, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. While DeJean was mainly a slot corner, learning anything from Slay helped, but Slay’s big project was unlocking the potential in Mitchell.

Slay often called Mitchell his son, acting as a sort of big brother to the young cornerback. While they only played one season together, Slay helped teach Mitchell what it was like to be a top outside corner, how to cover top NFL wide receivers, and how to lock them down on an island.

It’s paid off beautifully as Mitchell has quickly stepped into that role for the Eagles, essentially picking up where Slay left off, being the top guy for the Birds’ secondary. Mitchell has already been named an All-Pro and will use the lessons he learned from Slay to continue to play at a high level.

Slay officially announced his retirement after 13 years in the league on Monday, and in that time, he became an Eagles legend and, potentially, one day an Eagles Hall of Famer. During a time when the Eagles as a franchise could’ve gone south, he helped keep them afloat and on the right path towards the future, putting them back in the spotlight.

Big Play Slay always showed up when it mattered, helped build a culture that is still alive with the Eagles today, and could be sustained for years to come. The success this team has had and will have going forward is in large part due to him, and that should never be taken for granted.

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: