On Sunday, the Bills will play their first game since claiming cornerback Darius Slay on waivers from the Steelers. But Slay didn’t show up after the Bills claimed his contract on waivers.
The Bills placed him on the reserve/did not report list. But that’s a temporary solution. They have a bigger decision to make. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bills are still in the process of figuring out what to do.
The first question is whether Slay will decide to show up. He has yet to make a definitive statement as to whether he’ll play for the Bills, or anyone.
If Slay doesn’t show up, the Bills’ options are to keep him on the reserve list while waiting for him to show up, or to release him.
If released, Slay would go through waivers again. If he clears waivers, Slay would become a free agent.
One big factor will be whether the Bills decide to try to recover a portion of Slay’s $8.745 million signing bonus. If they release him, they’ll lose the ability to chase him for cash they didn’t pay.
There’s another wrinkle to this. There’s a belief in some league circles that Slay wanted to, and still wants to, return to the Eagles. If the Bills don’t release him from the reserve/did not report list, that can’t happen.
Finally, some have speculated that there could be a tampering issue floating around in this. And while tampering happens all the time, the Bills could make a stink with the league office, which could spark an investigation into whether the Eagles and Slay’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had any communications about Slay’s desire to return to Philly.
The Eagles obviously want him. They made an unsuccessful waivers claim for Slay’s contract.
For now, the Bills hold the cards. They’re in the process of figuring out how to play them.
And they’re clearly not happy. They waived cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram after claiming Slay.