Former Mississippi State standout Darius Slay retires after 13-year NFL career
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Former Mississippi State standout cornerback Darius Slay, who went on to a fruitful pro career that included 6 trips to the Pro Bowl, is calling it quits after 13 years in the NFL.
Slay, who was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2012 during his 2-year run in Starkville, wrote a heartfelt retirement message on his Instagram account on Monday.
“I’ve been blessed to play the game I loved since I was 5yrs old for an amazing 13yrs at the highest level,” wrote Slay in his post that included video of all of the jerseys he’s worn during his football life, including that Mississippi State uniform during his 2 years in Starkville in 2011 and 2012.
“Football was my peace, my joy, my everything,” wrote Slay.
The 35-year-old Brunswick, Ga., native reached the pinnacle of pro football with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles during his final season in Philadelphia in 2024. Slay spent 5 years with the Eagles between 2020-24 after coming over from the Detroit Lions, who selected Slay out of Mississippi State in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Slay spent 7 seasons with the Lions between 2013-19, earning Pro Bowl appearances in 2017, 2018 and 2019 while being selected as a first-team All-Pro in 2017. He earned 3 more Pro Bowl selections with the Eagles, capping his time off in Philadelphia with that precious Super Bowl victory.
After 1 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 that turned out to be his final year in the NFL, Slay is riding off into the sunset, grateful for what the game gave to him. Slay played in just 10 games with the Steelers before being cut, and when the Buffalo Bills picked Slay up off waivers, he declined to report to the Bills.
With Slay contemplating retirement or a return to the NFL in 2026, he ultimately decided to call it quits, with that touching Instagram message being his football sign off.
While Slay heads off into the sunset, the next crop of NFL hopefuls gets ready to hear their names called next month in Pittsburgh at the NFL Draft. Here is what the Kalshi market sees as the most likely names to be taken off the board in the first 10 picks of the draft:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
