He was a terrific cornerback and a mentor to his heir, Quinyon Mitchell. But there's no need to panic over whether the Eagles can thrive without him. They can.

The Philadelphia Eagles got things going with their offseason with the release of longtime cornerback Darius Slay, starting the restructuring of the NFL's No. 1 defense. Slay will be 35 next January and was designated as a post-June 1 cut. The Eagles will save $4.3 million against the 2025 salary cap and $17.8 million for 2026.

The Philadelphia Eagles are releasing veteran cornerback Darius Slay, according to CBS Sports lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. This ends a decorated five-season stint with Philadelphia, which included three Pro Bowl nods and, most recently, a win in Super Bowl LIX.