The Buffalo Bills have added veteran cornerback Darius Slay to their 53-man active roster, per a report by ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter. The soon-to-be 35-year-old Slay has played for three teams in 13 NFL seasons. Slay was more recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers, whom he had signed a one-year, $10 million contract this past offseason.
The Steelers took on $8.5 million of Slay’s salary in the form of a bonus upon his release. That makes Slay a bit of a bargain for One Bills Drive. It remains to be seen what Slay has left, with him turning 35 on January 1. In nine starts (10 games played) with Pittsburgh in 2025, Slay made 36 tackles (28 solo), one tackle for loss, three pass defenses, and one fumble recovery, per Pro Football Reference.
A six-time Pro Bowler, “Big Play Slay” was voted First Team All-Pro following a stellar 2017 NFL season. Slay has played in two Super Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles, most recently as part of the Eagles’ win in Super Bowl LIX in February 2025.
Slay was drafted in Round 2 (36th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 2013 NFL Draft. He earned a second contract with the Lions, playing a total of seven seasons in the Motor City before heading to the City of Brotherly Love (2020-2024 NFL seasons).
Per a report by Ian Rapoport, The Eagles had also placed a claim for Slay, hoping to reunite with the cornerback. That is, until the Bills entered the picture with a claim that was higher in the priority order. In the end, it all came down to a strength of schedule (SOS) tiebreaker.