Darius Slay

At 33 years old, Darius Slay has this physical status:

College career

Slay attended Itawamba Community College before transferring to Mississippi State University.

Slay, a freshman at the University of Mississippi, earned First-Team Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACAA) for his first career (NJCAA), All-Region 23 awards after only playing five games for Coach Jon Williams and the Indians. He received JC Gridwire Preseason Second-Team All-American recognitions after his freshman season. Slay played in all nine games, 1 tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery, and he had three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown during his final season in Fulton. He was named on the MACJC First-Team All-State team in both defense and special teams.

In 2011, and 2012, he played for head coach Dan Mullen's Mississippi State Bulldogs football team after ICC. He had 64 tackles, six interceptions, and two touchdowns in his two seasons with Mississippi State.

Professional career

The majority of NFL draft experts and scouts expected Slay to be a second- or third-round draft pick coming out of Mississippi State. He was given an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. Slay appeared at the Mississippi State Pro Day on March 6, 2013 in front of team leaders and scouts from 30 NFL teams. NFL analyst Mike Mayock had him ranked as the seventh best cornerback prospect in the draft, and NFLDraftScout.com named him as the eighth-best cornerback.

In the second round (36th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected Slay. Slay was the fifth cornerback drafted in 2013, behind Dee Milliner, D. J. Hayden, Desmond Trufant, and Xavier Rhodes.

Slay underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on May 3, 2013. The Detroit Lions signed Slay to a four-year, $5.28 million deal, with $3.12 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.22 million.

Throughout training camp in 2013 for the first time in the starting lineback role, he competed with Chris Houston and Bill Bentley. Slay the starting cornerback was used by head coach Jim Schwartz to start his rookie season.

In his first start in his professional regular season debut against the Minnesota Vikings in 2013, he had four solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Lions defeated 34-24. In the fourth quarter, after giving up a big play, he was benched in favour of veteran Rashean Mathis. Slay was scheduled to start the following week, but after being defeated in favor of Mathis, he was demoted in favour of Mathis and only appeared on special teams during the Lions' Week 3 victory over the Washington Redskins. In a 40–32 victory over the Chicago Bears, Slay had a season-high seven combined tackles and a defense pass. Slay had suffered a torn meniscus during practice on December 7, 2013. Head coach Jim Schwartz called the incident a "freak" crash during a non-contact drill, and it was described as a "freak" crash. It led to him missing the following three games (Weeks 14–16). The Detroit Lions fired Jim Schwartz after failing to qualify for the playoffs and ending with a 7–9 record in 2013. In four starts and 13 games, Slay had 34 total tackles (27 solo) and six passes defensed.

Slay entered training camp as a starting pointback, as well as Rashean Mathis, but Chris Houston received minor competition. Slay and Rashean Mathis were the starting cornerbacks for Jim Caldwell's regular season in 2014.

In a 35–14 victory, Slay started the season-opener against the New York Giants, recording three solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflection. During a 24–17 victory over the New York Jets on September 28, 2014, Slay recorded five combined tackles, intercepted a pass, made his first interception of his career. Slay was the first time he intercepted a pass by quarterback Geno Smith, who was originally meant for wide receiver Eric Decker, and recovered it for a 40-yard gain in the fourth quarter. In the Lions' 34-17 victory over the Chicago Bears, he recorded a season-high eight combined tackles and had a season-high three pass deflections. During the Lions' 16–14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, Slay recorded five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made an interception. In the second quarter, Slay intercepted a pass by Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, which was supposed for wide receiver Greg Jennings. He appeared in all 16 games in 2014 and had a career-high 61 combined tackles (48 solo), 17 pass deflections, and two interceptions.

The Detroit Lions finished second in the NFC North with an 11-5-0 record and qualified for a playoff berth. The Lions lost the NFC Wildcard Game 24-20 at the Dallas Cowboys on January 4, 2015, Slay made one solo tackle and broke up a pass.

Slay was promised a starting pointback in training camp. Teryl Austin, the offensive coordinator, kept Slay and Rashean Mathis as the starting cornerback pair for the 2015 season.

He began playing for the San Diego Chargers in the season opener, and gained five solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Philip Rivers during a 28–33 loss. During a 14-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams' quarterback Case Keenum, he recorded two solo tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted him. As the Lions defeated the New Orleans Saints 35–27, he had a season-high seven combined tackles and two pass deflections. He played in all 16 games in 2015, totaling 59 tackles (48 solo), 13 pass deflections, and two interceptions.

The Detroit Lions signed Slay to a four-year, $48.15 million contract extension with $23.1 million as a guarantee and a signing bonus of $14.5 million.

Slay entered training camp as the No. 1 in the country's highest rank. Since the Lions refused to re-sign Rashean Mathis, there was one cornerback on the Lions depth chart. Slay and Nevin Lawson, as well as nickelback Quandre Diggs, were among the startbacks in 2016.

During the Lions' 17–14 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 4, Slay recorded four solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and made his first career termination. Brian Hoyer was suspended by Slay for a seven-yard loss in the first quarter. Slay had two combined tackles before losing the Lions' 20–17 victory over the Washington Redskins in the third quarter due to a hamstring injury. (Weeks 8–9) Because of his hamstring injury, he was forced to miss the next two games. In Week 15, he made one tackle before suffering a hamstring injury and expulsion from the Lions' 17–6 loss at the New York Giants. During the Lions' Week 16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, he remained inactive. In a 31–24 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 21, he made a season-high eight solo tackles on January 1, 2017. In 13 games and 13 starts, he finished the 2016 season with 44 combined tackles (43 solo), 13 passes defensed, two interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble.

With a 9-7 record and a wildcard berth, the Detroit Lions finished second in the NFC North. In the NFC Wildcard Game, Slay recorded two combined tackles in the Lions' 26–6 loss at the Seattle Seahawks on January 7, 2017.

In 2017, head coach Jim Caldwell retained Slay and Nevin Lawson as the starting cornerbacks. During a 24–10 victory over the New York Giants, Slay recorded a season-high eight combined tackles and two pass deflections on September 18, 2017. During a 30–26 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, he made five solo tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Matt Ryan. As the Lions were defeated by the Falcons 26-28, he returned one 37 yards. Multiple interceptions were in the same game for the first game of his career. In the Lions' 20–10 victory over the Chicago Bears on December 16, 2017, Slay had five tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted two passes by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. His appearance earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week awards. With seventh interceptions, his two interceptions tied him for the most interceptions, while his 27 passes defense led the league. Slay made history by becoming the first Lions cornerback to do so since Bruce McNorton in 1983. Slay is the only player in the NFL to play five tackles, two interceptions, and three pass defenses in the same season since 2000. Slay was selected to play in the 2018 Pro Bowl for the first time in his career, which was the first Pro Bowl pick of his career. He appeared in all 16 games in 2017 and had 60 tackles (54 solo), a career-best 26 pass deflections, and eight interceptions. In 2017, his eight interceptions led the league. For the 2017 season, Slay was named First-Team All-Pro. Slay received an overall grade of 80.6, ranking 16th out of all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017. He was also ranked 49th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

In a 17-3 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Slay returned an interception off of quarterback Josh Rosen 67 yards for a touchdown, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He was named to his second Pro Bowl appearance during the season.

Slay scored his first interception of the season off the Philip Rivers in week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2019, Slay was named to his third Pro Bowl appearance. Slay confessed to losing his love for head coach Matt Patricia in the aftermath of a one-on-one meeting in which Patricia told Slay that he was not "an elite corner" after the season ended.

In the 2020 NFL Draft, Sylon was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a third-round and fifth-round pick. Slay also joined the football team in a three-year contract that included $30 million as a guarantee the next day. Slay revealed that he would wear jersey number 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant, as Rodney McLeod currently wears #23.

Slay became an Eagle on Week 16 against the Dallas Cowboys for his first interception as an Eagle off a pass kicked by Andy Dalton during the 37-17 loss.

Slay has been searching for another number change from 24 to 2 according to the new NFL jersey rules on May 1, 2021.

Slay scored two interceptions off Sam Darnold in week 5 against the Panthers, earning the 21–18 victory. In the 44–6 victory, Slay recovered a fumble by D'Andre Swift and returned it for a 33-yard touchdown. After a Week 10 victory over the Denver Broncos, Slay was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week on November 17, the Eagles defeated the Denver Broncos, where he recovered a fumble and returned the ball 82 yards for a touchdown. In the 40–29 victory, Slay had an interception return for a touchdown over the New Orleans Saints. Slay's 116 fumble return yards in a single season was the sixth most in a single season in NFL history, and his 3 defensive touchdowns in a single season were the second most in franchise history behind Eric Allen. He was selected for his fourth Pro Bowl, his first as an Eagle.

In a 24-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, Slay had five passes defensed and two interceptions, earning the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

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