Why New Free Agent Doesn't Make Sense for Cardinals

We’ve reached that point in the offseason where we start seeing big name players cut from their team teams that typically catch a lot of people off guard. The Philadelphia Eagles released Darius Slay recently, and his market will be an interesting one to monitor.

Over the last 10+ years, Slay has been amongst the best corners in the league. He found terrific success with the Lions before being treated to the Eagles. Once he got to Philly, Slay became much more of a household name.

The last two seasons have been very up-and-down for the veteran corner in the Eagles made the tough decision of moving on from him. Philadelphia added youth in last year’s draft to become Slay’s successor and the time has arrived for the two parties to part ways.

Slay will still have a good market of teams who will be pursuing him for a veteran addition to their secondary. Should the Arizona Cardinals be amongst those teams?

It’s a difficult conversation we had for one main reason: Arizona already has a veteran corner on their team and Sean Murphy-Bunting. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a reason not to go after Slay.

Murphy-Bunting still still has two more years remaining on his current contract, which, by the way doesn’t cost the team much at all. And although I understand that Murphy-Bunting has been up and down throughout his career, let alone in the desert, at least we know what we’re getting out of him.

Meanwhile, Slay is now 34 years old and has shown more than enough signs that he’s on the down slope of his career. His days of being an ace corner are gone, and at best he’s an average starter. Slay is much more of a gamble compared to Murphy-Bunting considering there’s a possibility that he could rebound - but it’s much more likely that his best days are well behind him.

I also look at this corner room for the Cardinals and I see a lot of young players that they’re developing with several being exciting prospects for the future. Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas, and Max Melton are all players who have bright futures ahead for Arizona.

The worst thing the Cardinals could do right now would be to bury them on the depth chart behind an older cover man. They need the snaps and have shown the promise that they deserve them as well.

If Murphy-Bunting wasn’t on this team, maybe we’re having a different conversation. But even then, we still don’t know what to expect out of Slay moving forward. I also imagine he’s looking for one more cash out as a swan song for his career. I don’t think the Cardinals should be shelling out money to someone in Slay’s position.

To me, I look at Slay as that “name brand” player on the market that will get fans excited. But the reality is, he would more than likely not give you the return on investment that you would like to see.

It’s certainly a fun thought to add a player with the prestige the six-time Pro Bowler has, but I don’t like the fit and I think that money can be better spent elsewhere.

Right now, Arizona should be focused on building a young core with veterans who can play at an above average quality at worst. Slay doesn’t fit that criteria for me at this point in time.

If the Cardinals are hell-bent on adding cornerback through free agency, then I would prefer to sign the other Eagles’ free agent corner, Avonte Maddox.

Bottom line, Slay is not the move.