Eagles' Darius Slay spills the beans on why he passed on signing with Ravens
Last off-season, Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Darius Slay almost left the team in free agency. As Slay was looking to ink a contract extension, talks between him and the team stalled, leading some to believe he would be a cap casualty as a potential cut.
Slay even said his goodbye to Eagles nation showing love and saying, "Lets see where we heading next." Slay used that as part of his leverage that ultimately landed him a two-year $42 million contract extension.
While Slay said he was 'almost a Baltimore Raven', one thing that kept him in Philly was Eagles' security chief, Dom DiSandro, better known as, "Big Dom."
Slay said:
"It's always about this, isn't about how they wanted to do the cap thing, you know, and just using leverage. Everybody does this, use leverage against us, they use age against us to leverage us, so I used the capital number against them to get the money I want, they used the age for the money they want to offer me."
"But I almost was a Baltimore Raven, I really committed to the Ravens. Then (Big) Dom called me and said "Slay I want you to stay here da da da." I'm like you know what you called me Dom, I'm coming back... I love Dom man, he looks out for me and my family man, made sure everybody good."
DiSandro has become an icon for the Eagles recently. DiSando oversees all safety and security matters for players, coaches, and executives. DiSandro protects players and coaches in public and has been spotted at many events with the Philly stars. He's now an assistant coach with the team.
Darius Slay will be gearing up for his fifth season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024
Darius Slay joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 after he was acquired in a trade from the Detroit Lions. Slay has played in four seasons for Philly, making the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons.
Entering the 2024 season, Slay will be playing in his fifth season as a member of the Eagles and his 12th season of his career.
At age 33, Slay knows his days as a top NFL cornerback are numbered. The team knows that too.
Philadelphia drafted two cornerbacks early in this year's draft when they took Quinyon Mitchell (22nd overall) and Cooper DeJean (40th overall) in this year's draft.
"Both of these guys, very athletic, very talented, I’m looking forward to continuing to keep working," Slay said via NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Eagles finished the 2023 season with an 11-6 record and finished second in the NFC East while appearing in the playoffs. They'll look to make another playoff run this season and Slay will be one of the veteran leaders on the defensive side of the ball.
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