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The rare modern cornerback to play an age-34 season, Darius Slay will see his time with the Steelers end earlier than expected. Pittsburgh is moving on from the veteran defender.
This is being described as a mutual parting, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Pittsburgh will sign fellow corner Asante Samuel Jr. from the practice squad to fill Slay’s roster spot. Slay was a healthy scratch for the Steelers’ Week 13 game against the Bills, foreshadowing this decision.
Slay is interested in continuing his career, but he will need to wait a bit before being allowed to pick his next destination. Although Slay is on a one-year, $10MM deal, the two-time Super Bowl starter’s base salary is the veteran minimum (for his service time) at $1.26MM. That would not put a waiver claim off the table for a corner-needy club. If Slay is unclaimed by 3pm CT on Wednesday, he will head back to free agency.
The NFL’s oldest active corner, Slay had viewed this as most likely his final season. The 13th-year cover man reunited with ex-Lions DC Teryl Austin in Pittsburgh and started nine games. Pro Football Focus viewed Slay on the fringes of the middle class at the position, slotting him 71st out of 110 qualified options. Slay has certainly played much better, as he enjoyed a quality prime. As evidenced from a free agency deal requiring $10MM, Slay generated interest when the Eagles cut him this offseason. It would not shock if he landed elsewhere to close one of the better CB careers in this era.
As we discussed in a Trade Rumors Front Office piece this offseason, the Steelers have not been shy about deploying aging corners. They traded for Jalen Ramsey this offseason, doing so two years after being Patrick Peterson‘s last stop; the future Hall of Famer played an age-33 season in Pittsburgh. The Mike Tomlin tenure has also seen Joe Haden, William Gay and Ike Taylor play into their 30s. With the Steelers residing at a crossroads following a one-sided loss to the Bills — a game that brought steady boos and calls for Tomlin’s ouster — they are shaking up their secondary.
The Steelers have experimented with Ramsey at safety, but Slay has continued to work in the boundary corner position — one that brought him considerable success since being a 2013 Lions draftee. Slay logged 422 outside CB snaps during a 10-game Steelers stint. The six-time Pro Bowler broke up three passes and did not log an interception. Slay did allow a 75% completion rate and a 108.0 passer rating as the closest defender. While he is charged with only one touchdown allowed as a Steeler, his performance fell short of expectations ahead of the healthy scratch.
Tuesday’s transaction also blocks other teams from making sales pitches to Samuel, who could have been poached from Pittsburgh’s practice squad. Added after an extensive visit tour last month, Samuel debuted for the Steelers — as a practice squad elevation — in Week 13. He played 28 defensive snaps in a backup role. With teams seeing Samuel healthy, interest may well have come after he reverted back to the practice squad. But the 26-year-old CB is now on the 53-man roster, ending such speculation.
More to come.