Philadelphia Eagles Grant Former Mississippi State CB Darius Slay Permission to Seek Trade

The former Bulldogs standout may be heading to the trade market soon.

The Philadelphia Eagles have granted cornerback Darius Slay permission to seek a trade, sources familiar with the situation tell Diana Russini of ESPN.

Despite this, sources have told Albert Breer of MMQB that Slay did not ask for a trade and that the move is part of new contract negotiations with the star cornerback, with the Eagles hopeful to find a way to keep him in Philadelphia.

The 32 year-old former Bulldog and five-time Pro Bowler is heading into the final year of his current contract with the Eagles, which carries a $17 million base salary as well as a $26.1 million cap hit.

The Mississippi State alum was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after reportedly having a fallout with then Lions head coach Matt Patricia.

During the 2022 NFL season, Slay recorded three interceptions and 55 tackles en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII. He was also named to his fifth career Pro Bowl.

The possible trade of Slay is part of a major shakeup of the Eagles' roster, as fellow defensive pieces James Bradberry and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are now free agents. What the Eagles will do during this offseason will determine how they can make it back to the Super Bowl after falling short to the Chiefs.

“I love Philly, man,” Slay said on the Montgomery and Co. podcast. “I plan on staying in Philly, but if it don’t happen, I know I got one more year left here. I want an extension with the Eagles. I love the Eagles. They took another chance on me trading for me, and I panned out of course. But yeah, I love that money, so of course I’m going to be talking about it this offseason."

"That’s everyone, that’s we all do when we’ve got one year left on our deal. We try to get the extension because it makes the cap low and then you get to start building around the team because once you’re cap’s too high, you can’t add more players. So with me, with my cap that high, I’m sure they probably want to get it down, and the best way to get it down is to give me some money."

It will be interesting to see where Slay lands if he does indeed hit the trade market.