Darius Slay: "I Played Freaking Fantastic"
The night before Eagles general manager Howie Roseman pulled the trigger on acquiring cornerback Darius Slay earlier this month from the Detroit Lions, Fletcher Cox called Slay.
“I heard we’re trying to get you,” said Cox.
The Eagles defensive tackle then began telling Slay what it would be like to play for the Eagles.
Slay, who was a Cox’s teammate for a short time at Mississippi State, recounted the conversation on a conference call with reporters on Thursday afternoon.
“He said the owner (Jeffrey Lurie) is straight forward and he’s honest with you,” sad Slay. “He said (the players) treat each other like brothers and go out there and play ball for each other. He said the fans will go crazy. He said they’re going to let you know when you’re playing good and they’re going to let you know when you’re playing bad.
“I look forward to that. I want to know when I’m playing bad myself.”
Who knows how Eagles fans would have dealt with Slay season?
There is a perception that he had down season last year. It’s a perception that isn’t accurate, according to Slay.
“I had a great year, in my opinion,” said Slay, who had two interceptions last year, his lowest total since 2016 when he also had two.
“I was not targeted as much. Other than that, I think I played freaking fantastic, not going to say an excellent level, but it was dang sure good enough to make a pro bowl three peat three years in row. I don’t see it as having a bad year, I just had pretty good one.”
Slay was asked about the pressure he might feel from fans with high expectations that he can be the true number one cornerback the team has sought for a number of years now.
“I had a lot of pressure already,” said Slay. “Detroit was in similar situation me coming out in the draft. They drafted me early. I only played on year of SEC ball. They drafted me and took a chance on me.
“A lot of guys like, ‘Oh man, Detroit Lions drafted another corner that doesn’t have any experience,’ but I panned out and played well. I don’t really consider there’s pressure for me. Like I said, I have fun. It’s not a pressure thing for me. I just like to go out there and play ball.”
The Eagles have spent a lot of resources via trades, high draft picks and free agent signings looking for a CB1, but believe they finally found one in Slay.
“We know his mentality,” said Roseman. “This is a guy who can get the ball back for our offense. He's really been in a situation where he's been left on an island.”
Roseman spoke about how well they know Slay, from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who had him for the 2013 season in Detroit when Schwartz was the head coach of the Lions, to Cox, who knows Slay from their days together at Mississippi State, to 2013 when the Eagles did a lot of work on Slay leading up to that year’s draft.
Slay said he spoke to Philly the night before the draft seven years ago and was told they really liked him.
When the second round arrived and the Eagles were on the clock at No. 35 overall, they took Stanford tight end Zach Ertz. At No. 36, the Lions grabbed Slay.
“As soon as Philly picked Ertz, Detroit called me within five seconds; wasn’t even that long,” said Slay.
The Eagles already had Cox on their roster at that time, having taken him in the first round of the 2012 draft.
Slay and Cox were on the same recruiting trip to Mississippi State when they were in high school and got to know each other well.
Cox, who is from Yazoo City, Miss., ended up at Mississippi State. Slay would have, except he had to take the junior college route out of Brunswick (Ga.) High, attending Itawamba Community College in northeast Mississippi before transferring to Mississippi State.
“It’s a beautiful thing to be on a team with a classmate,” aid Slay about Cox, “and I’m looking forward to sharing the field with him once again and compete with him.”
