Darius Slay Jr., a Super Bowl-winning cornerback, is set to play the 2025 NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles. However, at 34 years old, he hasn’t ruled out a possible return to Detroit.
In a conversation with Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on his podcast, Slay acknowledged that his future is uncertain beyond this season. “I have one more year left,” he said. “We’ll see how things play out. Maybe I’ll re-sign, hopefully. If not, we’ll figure out what’s next.”
When asked about the possibility of coming back to Detroit, Slay expressed a deep connection to the city, referring to it as his “second home.”
“I still do a lot for the community,” he explained. “A lot of guys from Detroit who are now in the league were around me when they were just high school kids. It’s crazy to think about.”
He then listed several NFL players from Detroit, including New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, and free-agent wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, all of whom trained with him when he was with the Lions.
“I have so much love for Detroit. I used to go to all the high school games,” he added.
St. Brown, clearly interested in recruiting Slay back to the Lions, didn’t hesitate to make his pitch. “You already won a Super Bowl, man, just come back,” he said.
Slay remains under contract with the Eagles through 2025 and is set to earn $16 million next season, per Spotrac.
A former All-Pro from Mississippi State, Slay played a key role in Philadelphia’s standout secondary in 2024. The Eagles boasted the league’s best pass defense, limiting opponents to just 174.2 passing yards per game, thanks in part to the emergence of rookie nickelback Cooper DeJean and the return of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Though Slay didn’t record an interception for the first time in his 12-year career, he still made an impact with 13 pass breakups and 49 tackles in 14 games.
His most productive seasons, however, were in Detroit, where he totaled 19 interceptions over seven years.
As both the Lions and Eagles prepare for the 2025 season as Super Bowl contenders, Detroit will need to improve its pass defense, which struggled in 2024, allowing 244 passing yards per game—third-worst in the league.
