After the Steelers released cornerback Darius Slay, both the Bills and the Eagles made waiver claims for the balance of his contract. The Bills had priority, but Slay has decided not to report.
If the Eagles had secured the Slay contract on waivers, would Slay have shown up?
Via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com, Slay would not commit as to whether he would have reported to the Eagles.
Slay’s comments were made on the Speakeasy podcast.
“Mostly, it’s a family decision kind of to it,” Slay said, per Getzenberg. “So, we just see how it goes though. But I’m going to take it day by day.”
Many in league circles think Slay wants to make his way back to the Eagles. If the Bills release Slay, he’ll go through waivers again. If he clears waivers, he can sign with any team, at any time.
The other wrinkle relates to the ability of the Bills to play hardball with Slay. If Slay fails to report, a portion of his $8.745 million signing bonus could be recovered by the Bills, even though the Bills paid none of it.
It’s a simple proposition. The signing bonus represents advance compensation for future services. Failing to provide those services exposes the player to losing some of that compensation.
