NEW ORLEANS — Darius Slay left the red gas can back at his locker in Philadelphia. The post-it note is still attached to the plastic, bearing a motivational message written by Christian Parker, the team’s passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach:
How much gas do you have left in the Big Play tank?
Slay, 34, is emptying the tank in what may be his final season with the Eagles. He arrived in Philly in a 2020 trade involving the Detroit Lions, and the cornerback nicknamed “Big Play Slay” subsequently added another three Pro Bowl selections to a career that could debatably place him in Canton. He’s still missing the championship that’s evaded him. He started in the team’s Super Bowl LVII loss two years ago, and he’s managed multiple nagging injuries while playing for a top-ranked 2024 defense that’s now one game away from securing Philadelphia’s second Super Bowl title.
Slay missed one game with a knee injury, another with a groin injury, and he sat out the regular-season finale after Eagles coach Nick Sirianni chose to rest him for the entire week. But Slay has only missed 12 defensive snaps in Philadelphia’s three playoff games so far, and he intercepted Jordan Love on a deep pass attempt in a wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers and had three passes defended in the divisional-round win over the Washington Commanders.
“This gas here in the playoffs is a different type of gas,” Slay said. “You’ve only got four games in the playoffs. So, my tank full in the playoffs.”
No matter how Super Bowl LIX goes, the Eagles have already established a succession plan at cornerback. General manager Howie Roseman, rectifying the devaluation of the team’s defensive backs in 2023, spent the organization’s first two draft picks on cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Mitchell was an immediate starter opposite Slay. DeJean, who missed 11 training camp practices due to an offseason hamstring injury, emerged as the defense’s primary option at nickel safety — more due to the team’s need at the position than defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s desire to play him there.
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Fangio said in training camp that he still wanted to see DeJean play some outside cornerback, and it’s likely the Eagles at the very least test DeJean at the position in the upcoming offseason.
“He definitely has the skill set,” cornerbacks coach Roy Anderson said. “I think that’s one thing that stood out with him coming into the draft where he could play multiple positions. He played corner at Iowa, but we saw the skill set to say, ‘Hey, this guy can move inside, because of his size, his speed, his football IQ.’ So he definitely has the ability to play whatever. Coop’s the type of guy that he just wants to play. We asked him, ‘Would you mind playing nickel?’ And he said, ‘Whatever I can do to help the team.’”
If Slay is unprepared to retire, it’s still possible he will have to continue his career with another team. The Eagles are scheduled to enter the offseason with $18.1 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap. Slay’s cap hit is scheduled to increase to $13.8 million in 2025 — nearly double the combined cap hits of the cornerbacks remaining under contract: Mitchell ($3.4 million), DeJean ($2.1 million), Kelee Ringo ($1.2 million) and Eli Ricks ($1.03 million). Even if the Eagles believe Slay can still be productive in 2025, it will be tough for the front office to ignore any possible cap savings in moving on.
Slay, ever-energetic, hasn’t projected any discontent in the waning weeks of what may be his final season in Philadelphia. Sitting on a dais in a hotel lobby on Thursday, Slay reflected on the opportunity to play in his second Super Bowl.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “I know I got a great opportunity to come play in this game again. So I’m thankful man for this position I’m in, I’m thankful for this organization, I’m thankful for my teammates, because without all of this it would not be possible.”
In the adjacent room, Mitchell, who grew up idolizing Slay, grinned when fielding a question:
How much gas does Slay have left in the tank?
“He’s got a lot,” Mitchell said. “He’s got a lot.”
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C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s play ‘speaks for itself’
C.J. Gardner-Johnson sat on a table in a loud room full of media and his teammates, and he spoke at a volume slightly above a whisper, hunched over a table in an attempt to make himself unseen. It’s a stark contrast from the person his Eagles teammates and coaches have come to know, but Gardner-Johnson is someone who seems to have an on/off switch.
On the field and in the locker room, he’s on. He’s loud. He talks trash. He has fun. He gets into it with the opposition and makes the Eagles locker room laugh. He’s always been like that, the loudest one in a room that could use some noise and a healthy dose of energy. Linebacker Zack Baun learned all about that as a rookie with the Saints when he first came into the league and found out what Gardner-Johnson was about.
“He used to really be a pain in my side when I first got into the league,” Baun said. “He was a talkative guy — a passionate guy, I should say. But the thing about him is he knows so much about football. He’s such a smart player, he takes great notes, he’s a great teammate.”
Sometimes it seems like he wants the attention. Here, with media surrounding him, he’d rather keep to himself. Thursday, he downplayed how much of an impact he’s made on the locker room, with his energy, simply calling himself a “piece of the puzzle”, but his Eagles teammates know he’s much more than that.
They missed him last year. After the 2022 Super Bowl run, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman prioritized bringing back cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry over Gardner-Johnson, so he instead landed with the Detroit Lions on a one-year deal. He missed most of his only season in Detroit with an injury but fought his way back for the playoffs — and then this offseason, Roseman made bringing him back a priority, seeing him as not only an emotional leader the team needed, but a valuable chess piece for Fangio’s defense.
“I’m happy it worked out because I know the business can get in the way sometimes but I’m happy with Howie — and I’m happy nobody burned bridges because everybody was happy to bring him back,” said defensive end Brandon Graham.
The end result: Gardner-Johnson had one of his best seasons, getting six interceptions, one touchdown and 12 pass deflections.
“The play on the field speaks for itself,” Sirianni said. “He does a phenomenal job … He has a special ability to take the football away. But what I love about him is his energy, his love for football, his love for his teammates. He’s got an unlimited amount of energy and that’s contagious. You get around him and you can’t have a bad day. He’s going to make sure you’re up and ready to go for practice through the different ways that he does it. I love having him back on this team and he’s a big part of our success and why we’re here right now.”
It won’t be a one-and-done deal this time around for Gardner-Johnson, who Roseman signed to a three-year, $33 million deal. He’s not going anywhere.
“It’s hard to get to the top but you gotta continue to fight and scratch, like I showed in Detroit,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I was close with them last year, coming back to the team I started with is pretty amazing. It’s a long journey but I’m very appreciative with what happened this year and I’m ready to continue to write another chapter of the book.”
Jalen Hurts preparing to be Nickel and Dimed
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts enters his Super Bowl rematch against Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo with the highest blitz EPA of his career (0.25), per TruMedia. Sirianni hired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier last offseason in part to supply Hurts with better answers against the blitz. Successful so far, Super Bowl LIX presents Hurts with perhaps his most unique and challenging test yet.
The Chiefs leverage their uncommon depth in the secondary. Spagnuolo deployed Dime packages at the league’s fourth-highest rate (22.5 percent), according to TruMedia. With six defensive backs on the field, the Chiefs can structure their defense to both defend the run, suffocate the pass and send unexpected blitz packages at opposing quarterbacks from any angle.
“Well, obviously Spags does a great job, they got really good players, you know, and they’re going to play from multiple person groupings,” Nussmeier said. “So, you know, we’ve got to be aware of what’s in the game and then try and figure out where they’re going and what they’re doing.”
Moore and Nussmeier both arrived in Philadelphia with the goal of installing a “clean operation” in the pocket. They wanted Hurts to have clarity in the answers available to him. They wanted him to play with conviction. Hurts’ success in the blitz coincided with his embracing a more conservative role in which he attempted a career-low 37 passes of 20-plus air yards and absorbed a career-high 9.5 sack percentage. Although Hurts has the highest average time to throw of any quarterback in the NFL (3.31 seconds), his career-low five interceptions as a full-time starter in 2024 underlines his improved decisions under pressure.
“I don’t think you can ever play the position hesitantly,” Nussmeier said. “You gotta play with conviction. As we teach, as we install the plan, it’s about conviction, it’s about read, progression and just doing what we do.”
(Top photo of Darius Slay: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
