ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Cornerback Darius Slay has put off reporting to the Buffalo Bills to instead take time to consider his future, the player’s agent confirmed Thursday.
“Slay is honored that a first-class organization like the Bills claimed him, but he is going to take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing,” Drew Rosenhaus wrote in a text to the Associated Press.
Slay has 13 seasons of NFL experience, and the decision to take some time comes a day after the Bills claimed him on waivers following his release in Pittsburgh. In his first season in Pittsburgh, Slay was inactive in two of the Steelers’ past three outings after losing his starting job.
He was cut to make room for the team claiming receiver Adam Thielen on waivers.
Slay was not present at Bills practice Thursday, with the team declining to comment.
The 34-year-old Slay was an All-Pro in 2017 and played his first seven seasons in Detroit. He spent another five years in Philadelphia, where he won a Super Bowl last season.
Overall, he has 176 starts in 187 career games, with 28 interceptions, though none in his past two seasons.
Buffalo (8-4), which hosts Cincinnati on Sunday, claimed Slay in a bid to add experienced depth to a position where veteran Tre’Davious White and rookie Maxwell Hairston have split time opposite starter Christian Benford.
Buffalo freed up a roster spot for Slay by releasing fourth-year cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram, who has been a healthy scratch the past three weeks.
