Why Did Steelers Sign Veteran CB Darius Slay?
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers entered free agency looking to fortify their secondary. They feel they did so by adding 13th-year veteran cornerback Darius Slay, who won a Super Bowl title with the Philadelphia Eagles in February.
Tomlin gave some insight into the Steelers’ addition of Slay, a six-time Pro Bowler, on Sunday at the NFL’s annual league meeting. Slay has 28 interceptions and 160 pass breakups in his career.
“He’s a guy that we’ve competed against a lot over the years,” Tomlin said of Slay. “I’ve just got so much respect for his talents, his résumé, his approach to business, his football intellect. He’s a good veteran player. We’ve done similar business in recent years, you know, Joe Haden, Pat Pete, so we’re excited about getting a guy with some real know-how and experience to help us in our collective efforts.”
The two other former Steelers that Tomlin mentioned were part of the reason that Darius Slay decided to relocate to Pittsburgh on a one-year, $10 million deal. Peterson spent a season with the team in 2023, and Slay said he’d heard good things from him about the franchise. Slay was also a fan of Haden’s despite their time in the league overlapping.
Slay excels in man coverage and had 13 pass breakups last season. Opponents completed 60.4% of their passes his way during that same campaign. He also figures to help guide some of the Steelers’ younger defensive backs, including Joey Porter Jr., Beanie Bishop, and Cory Trice.
“It’s gonna be great, man, I love that,” Slay said earlier this month about imparting his knowledge. “That’s the best part of my job. I love meeting new people. You know, some people don’t like meeting new folks. … I’m very outgoing, and that’s one of the biggest roles I would like to take, just helping mentoring younger guys because a guy did that for me. So, I always gotta return the favor in my way, and that’s how I do it.
“And I do it with genuine love, not by force. It’s because I want them to be great. I want them to always be better than me. Any guy I ever had under me, my job is try to make sure they’ll be better than me, as a player, person, everything.”