Darius Slay reveals how close he was to rejoining the Eagles

· Yahoo Sports

Darius Slay is sharing his side of the story involving the Bills' disruption of an Eagles reunion. We've heard before, though we were robbed of the opportunity to hear Darius Slay's version. For a brief moment, it seemed like the star corner was headed back to the Philadelphia Eagles. The short version, we know. The Pittsburgh Steelers waived Darius Slay to make room for Asante Samuel Jr. The Buffalo Bills claimed him off waivers. The twist? Philadelphia reportedly put in a waiver claim in an attempt to influence a reunion.

The Bills had priority, so they landed Slay instead. Disappointed by that outcome, the six-time Pro Bowler never reported to upstate New York,

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It seems a pretty open-and-shut set of circumstances, but we've known Slay long enough to know something. No one tells a better story than him, especially if the story involves him.

Now retired, the veteran corner has finally pulled back the curtain on just how close that reunion came, and how unexpectedly it fell apart. Gather around! Slay has a story to tell.

Darius Slay shares the details of his near-reunion with Philadelphia.

"Now that I'm done, I can speak on a lot of stuff. Yeah, I don't know what Buffalo was thinking. I told them way before, 'Hey, I ain't coming to Buffalo.' I just ain't. I love you. I appreciate that you believe in me but I'm not coming. It's too cold. Yes, I believe in Josh Allen. Yes, I think he can do it. Yes, I believe he can get us to the Super Bowl. I've got one already. I'm good. You know what I'm saying? I'd rather be somewhere comfortable like where I want to be at."

That's a direct quote, Slay's words. He shared them during a recent podcast appearance recorded shortly after announcing his retirement.

"What's crazy is I was supposed to be on a flight to LA and watch the Eagles play, you know, the Chargers. And I'll go fly back with the team Monday... They called me Sunday when I was getting ready to book my flight to go down to LA to fly back with them boys because I was going to be on the sideline and all that. That's what they wanted me to come for. So, I'm like 'bet.' And I'll go be with the Eagles. Then, man, [the Bills] called me Sunday and was like, 'Nah, we ain't doing that. We will release you after we play them.' And I'm like, 'Alright, bet.' So, during that time that was like five weeks. I start running, start being in shape — I'm still in shape — [but then was like] I'm done. Because I ain't feel like going out there playing just one game and that was the last game of the year."

So, there you have it. According to Slay, the Buffalo Bills' interest was never mutual. He made it clear he had no intention of joining them, citing both personal preference and a desire to land somewhere comfortable.

His destination of choice was Philadelphia. As a matter of fact, since then, he expressed he'd only accept calls from the Eagles if they were interested in one more run. When that call was never made, he ultimately announced his retirement altogether. For Slay, it wasn’t about extending his career anywhere. It was about finishing it where he felt he belonged. He leaves us with many memories from his time with the organization.

In the end, it wasn't about an opportunity. It was about loyalty, and if he couldn't finish where it mattered most, he wasn't going to finish at all.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: Darius Slay almost rejoined Eagles before Bills changed their plan

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