Slay's hilarious explanation for why he didn't become a WR originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It’s hard to tell when Darius Slay is serious because he’s always laughing, yelling, screaming and carrying on about something or other.
So when he says that the Eagles’ cornerbacks have better hands than the Eagles’ wide receivers? He's cracking up when he says it, but you get the feeling that deep down, he probably believes it.
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“We got hands in the secondary,” Slay said Thursday. “We got the best hands on the team. We should be switching over to receiver. The whole group. Because we can do this. We got hands. We might not be the better route runners, but we got the best hands on the team, the DBs.”
Asked whether he’s shared this info with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and the other wide receivers on the team, Slay said: “They already know I got better hands. I tell them that every day.”
Slay, James Bradberry and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson definitely do have pretty good hands for defensive backs. They’re the first trio of Eagles defensive backs with at least three interceptions through eight games since Eric Allen, Seth Joyner and Rich Miano in 1991.
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But playing wide receiver?
Slay won't let it go.
“You saw me do it a little bit last year,” he said. “You never know. Might come out there, I might be the new … I ain’t gonna say Randy Moss because I ain’t 6-3, but I might be the new short version of Randy Moss. Fast, take the top of defenses like Moss, because I got hands like that.
“I ain’t saying I’m Deion, but Deion was on offense, got the rock, so I’m out there like, ‘Next up.’”
Slay ran a couple snaps on offense last year – one in each Washington game – and the ball didn’t come his way, but he talks about playing wide receiver so much it’s fair to wonder why he became a cornerback in the first place and not a wideout.
“Because I don’t like depending on too many people when it comes down to my job,” he said. “So that’s what happens on offense. You play receiver, all that’s gotta happen, gotta have great protection and the quarterback has to be reading the coverage in the right position?
“Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh. You know what I'm saying? Miss a block, he gets sacked, I just ran this hard-ass route and damn I’m open and he gets bleeping sacked?
“On the DB side, I don’t have to worry about all that. I don't have to depend on too many people and I don’t like depending on too many people. Bleep that.”
Slay is well aware that receivers earn more than corners.
There are 14 receivers averaging at least $20 million per year but only three corners making $20 million.
Slay averages $16.683 million per year, which makes him the eighth-highest-paid corner. If he was the eighth-highest-paid receiver, he’d be making $23.9 million per year.
“We’re not making receiver money,” he said. “They need to pay corners way more money. The corners should be getting $30 million just like receivers. Because we gotta cover ‘em.
"You got receivers making 30 m’s and all this kind of crazy stuff and we ain’t getting 30 m’s from catching the ball, too. We gotta stop them from catching the ball.
“People that cover the people with all the money should be making all the money. That’s what needs to be going on. DBs need to be paid 30 m’s.”
Slay has seven interceptions since joining the Eagles in 2020. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler – including last year with the Eagles – and was a First Team All-Pro with the Lions in 2017, when he led the NFL with eight INTs.
His 26 INTs since he became a regular member of the Lions’ secondary in 2014 are fourth-most in the NFL behind Marcus Peters (32), Harrison Smith (28) and Xavien Howard (27).
He’s made nearly $87 million in his 10 NFL seasons. If he were a wide receiver at the same skill level as he is as a cornerback, that number would be well over $100 million.
But that $87 million isn’t a bad consolation prize.
“I got 26 picks, that helps, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “And in my position, picks get you paid, and it got me paid a lot of money. You know what I’m saying? I’m pretty good at it.”
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