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Darius Slay making his ‘old heads’ proud watching NFL circle of life originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
On the night the Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell, general manager Howie Roseman had an important message for the rookie about his new mentor Darius Slay.
Roseman delivered it on a FaceTime call.
“I want you to live next door to Slay,” Roseman said.” I want you to sleep next to Slay…”
Mitchell cut him off.
“I might move in with him,” the first-round pick said. “Real talk.”
As Slay enters his 12th NFL season at age 33, he knows the end of his career is nearing. He made his sixth Pro Bowl (third with the Eagles) in 2023 but Father Time is undefeated. And as much as the Eagles need Slay to play at that level again this season, a big part of his role will be to mentor rookies Mitchell and second-round pick Cooper DeJean.
“I’m here to give them the blueprint for everything to make sure they succeed at this level,” Slay said this spring. “That’s my job to do.”
It’s a role Slay is taking very seriously.
Because over a decade ago, he was that same wide-eyed rookie. And he moved in next door to a veteran too.
A new home in Detroit
When Glover Quin showed up in Detroit for offseason workouts in 2013 after signing a five-year deal as a free agent from Houston, he wasn’t just supposed to be a centerpiece of the defense. He was also expected to become a veteran leader for a team coming off a four-win season and hoping to turn things around.
A few weeks after the Lions signed Quin, they drafted Slay in the second round out of Mississippi State. The Lions’ GM at the time, Martin Mayhew, approached Quin that spring and asked him to take Slay under his wing, show him the ropes.
Quin had just one request in return: He wanted Slay’s locker stall moved next to his at the team facility.
“I knew how much valuable time you spend in the locker room,” Quin said to NBC Sports Philadelphia this summer. “That’s where a lot of relationships and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/darius-slay-making-old-heads-110000808.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-07-22 11:00:00
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