It has been an amazing decade-plus career in the NFL for former Mississippi State standout Darius Slay. The former second-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft is coming off his fifth season with the Philadelphia Eagles, his first as a Super Bowl champion. Slay is clearly on the back nine of his pro career, having turned 34 in January. He does seem to want to play one more season.
Slay has one more year left on his contract with the Eagles, but they could potentially move on from him. While he is in favor of re-signing with the Birds, or just finishing out the contract, Slay did mention while appearing on Wednesday's episode of The St. Brown Podcast that he would be open to playing for the Lions again to close out his career. Slay spent his first seven seasons in Detroit from 2013-19.
Here is what caught everyone's attention from Slay's appearance over on The St. Brown Podcast.
"Whatever they wanna do. I might re-sign back hopefully. If not, we'll see what we're doing. Because I do want to play one more year, for sure. I love Detroit. I've got nothing but love. That's my second home. … The two spots I would always love to be at is either Philly or Detroit."
Here is the entire episode of The St. Brown Podcast in which Slay appeared on earlier this week.
Keep in mind that Amon-Ra St. Brown just so happens to be the star wide receiver for the Lions...
Darius Slay seems open to finishing his career with the Detroit Lions
This is very interesting for a few reasons. One, Slay already knows so much about the Lions from the first half of his career. Although the franchise had its moments, it was not a well-run operation for the most part when he starred there. The second has everything to do with how good the Lions are now under Dan Campbell. Could Philadelphia afford to let him walk to a fellow contender in the same NFC?
Let me put it this way. If the Eagles were to release Slay, then he has every reason to potentially sign with someone like the Lions. Truth be told, they may not be interested because every team is different. Slay may have starred in college at Mississippi State, but he grew up in Brunswick, Georgia close to Jacksonville. I can think of three teams in that region who would probably like to sign him.
Although Slay seems to be more in the line of thinking of playing for a serious Super Bowl contender in Detroit or Philadelphia, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints could use help in the secondary. The Jacksonville Jaguars need all sorts of help on defense. It may come down to how badly does Slay want to play next season. If it is Super Bowl contender or bust, I would totally get that.
For now, I think it would be incredible if Slay returned to Detroit and retired as a two-time champion.