Darius Slay finally breaks his silence on snubbing Buffalo, and one reason has Bills Mafia fuming
A head-scratching response from Darius Slay on why he didn’t want to play for Buffalo.
The Dairus Slay experiment was short-lived in Buffalo, to say the least. Slay was claimed off waivers by the Bills after being released by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but refused to report to Buffalo. The veteran cornerback wanted to take some time and contemplate retirement instead of suiting up.
After a whirlwind of a few days, Slay finally broke his silence on why he said no to Buffalo, and one reason in particular has the fanbase fuming. Slay appeared on Emannuel Acho’s “The Speakeasy” and opened up about his decision not to report to Buffalo. For Slay, it was just the team catching him at the wrong time.
“I don’t feel like packing up and moving again. I’m 13 years in, like, I done did it,” Slay said. “Like, they would have caught me at like 28, 29, I might have been like ‘OK.’ That’s a top organization. They have a lot of great things going on. They win, they go to the playoffs, they have a franchise quarterback. So, it wasn’t a bad fit, it just caught me at a bad time.”
That’s when perhaps the most damning part of the entire interview came, and a head-scratching response from the veteran cornerback quickly went viral.
“I talked to them. It was a neutral talk. I just said, ‘Hey, man. I’m 34. I know y’all be watching tape, but I’m trying to relax with my family and kid. I ain’t feel like packing up, moving.’ And then, on top of that, no offense to Buffalo, it’s cold as hell in Buffalo,” Slay said. “I’m from the south.”
Detroit, Philly, and Pittsburgh all have cold weather
Now, I am by no means an expert meteorologist, but Buffalo isn’t that much different from Detroit and Pittsburgh in terms of wintery weather and subpar conditions. I grew up in Western New York, and yes, the winters are bad, but it’s not like he was playing in Tampa Bay.
Slay literally just got done playing in Pittsburgh, which has bad weather and cold winters. Previously, he played for the Lions in Detroit, which also accumulates snow and cold weather, and Philly isn’t exactly the hottest place on the planet when winter rolls around.
Honestly, I would’ve had him rather have said he just didn’t want to play for Buffalo because he thought he would have cleared waivers and his real dream was to return to Philadelphia. One of his main reasons being avoiding cold weather seems disingenuous.
Farewell, sweet prince — for now
His tenure lasted longer than the likes of Antonio Brown’s, but he was still a Bill for less than 24 hours before deciding he wasn’t going to report. The fan base was a little frustrated by the decision, as the team lost out on cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram as a result. Buffalo still owns his rights, so if he decides he wants to play football, the two sides will need to reach an agreement.
The whole situation just felt like Slay was hoping to circumvent the CBA in a way and clear waivers so he could return to his preferred destination in Philadelphia or Detroit. Buffalo had other plans and put in a claim for him, and with higher priority, they landed the veteran.
I do want to preface this by saying if Slay just wants to retire and spend more time with his family, that’s perfectly acceptable and commendable; his throwing the weather out there seemed a bit far-fetched compared to where he was previously playing football. If it were his lack of playing time, that would be another understandable reason for him not wanting to join Buffalo.
As it currently sits, he would be about one to two injuries away from seeing the field, and in Pittsburgh, one of the reasons he wanted out was due to a lack of playing time.
At the end of the day, this won’t make or break Buffalo’s season. Slay made his choice, the Bills will move forward, and the fan base will forget about this the second someone makes a play on Sunday. But the reasoning he offered will linger as one of the strangest excuses we’ve heard from a veteran in a long time.
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