Eagles Today

Darius Slay Identifies Next Eagles' Secondary Leader

The three-time team captain pointed to Reed Blankenship as the group's leader if Slay does not return.
John McMullen|
Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) against the Jacksonville Jaguars. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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The door isn't completely closed on Darius Slay returning to the Eagles, but the veteran cornerback did seem to intimate that he would like to test free agency.

Earlier this week news broke that the Eagles plan to release Slay with a post-June 1 designation.

However, Slay has insisted he would like to play one more season and if all things are equal, he told Emmanuel Acho on "The Facility" that he's like to return to Philadelphia.

"If the money is equal, and everything is equal… it’s Philly for sure," Slay said.

On his own podcast Slay talked about the leadership aspect of the Eagles secondary and who might fill that void if the three-time captain goes in a different direction.

Slay pointed to Reed Blankenship, who will be entering his fourth season in September.

"Reed being around me and a lot of veterans before, I'm sure he could lead that group the right way," Slay said. "That's who I feel would be leading the group if I ain't in the building. He's a great damn leader. If they brought another veteran in who has played a lot, they could be a leader. But for sure, if I'm not in that room, Reed Blankenship will be a great one."

In his third pro season and second as a starter, Blankenship was one of the two starters on the back end for all 19 games he played (15 in the regular season and all four in the playoffs).

The Middle Tennessee State product finished with 78 tackles in the regular season, 4 interceptions, 6 pass breakups and a fumble recovery while playing 78% of the defensive snaps. He missed the Dec. 8 game aginst Carolina while in the concussion protocoal and also sat out the meaningless Week 18 game agsinst the New York Giants when Nick Sirianni sat most of his key contributors.

He added 27 more tackles in the postseason, along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery while playing in 99% of the defensive snaps (264 total) wn route to a Super Bowl LIX championship.

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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