Eagles star Darius Slay slams door on any theories of possible beefs with Matt Patricia
![Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2475,h_1392,x_0,y_336/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/57/01h6f5pg9tqmpwbdwpjv.jpg)
Okay... Darius Slay answered the Matt Patricia question. We can move on now and talk about some other Philadelphia Eagles camp notes now, right?
It's hard to imagine that some of you might be casual fans (or that less-interested enthusiasts exist among the Birds contingent), but we don't want to leave anyone out. Here's what you missed if you were busy and arrived at the party later than the rest of us.
Prior to their reunion in the City of Brotherly Love, Big Play Slay and Matt Patricia spent time together as player and coach in the Motor City. They didn't win a lot. Patricia hammered out a 9-22-1 win-loss total as the Detroit Lions' head man during the 2018 and 2019 NFL campaigns. Slay was traded to the Eagles on On March 20th of 2020. Detroit landed third-round and fifth-round selections in that year's NFL Draft as a result.
Buckle those seatbelts, guys and gals. The story was just beginning.
Darius Slay and Matt Patricia endure some hard times but are now reconnected in Philly as fellow Eagles.
Following the aforementioned trade, Slay signed a new three-year deal one day after joining Philly, one that was worth $50 million and included $30 million guaranteed. No one has ever stated definitively that a strained relationship with Patricia helped facilitate the move on the Lions' end, but we learned later that Slay wasn't a fan of his former head coach and terms like 'disrespect' had been tossed around.
As fate would have it... yes... as stated earlier, Slay and Patricia are again under one roof. The latter was added as a senior defensive assistant this past April. That led to an oft-asked question. Why would Philly hire Patricia knowing how Slay felt about him?
Oh ye of little faith! Some of you seek drama where there isn't any.
Following the second practice of Eagles training camp, select members of Philly's roster, Big Play included, met with members of the media. As you might expect, Slay was asked the question about his relationship with Matt Patricia.
Wait! Hasn't this happened already? Yes, it has, but sometimes it's good to be clear about things, and the 2022 Eagles team captain had no problem clearing the air.
"Me and him talked it, as a man-to-man. We got a great understanding, both want to win. He’s here to help me get better, and he wants to get better as a coach, so we’re in good hands right now. It took a lot for both of us to talk. So we did a great job. We communicate everyday. We talk everyday, so we’re just trying to build everything going forward, because at the end of the day we want to win. That’s his main goal, that’s my main goal, so we’ll continue to keep building."
Let's make long stories short. Two guys had a disagreement. They moved past it. We all can move on.
Bigger things are at stake, like getting back to football's biggest game and winning it this time. Kudos to Slay and Patricia for burying Jeremiah Trotter's axe. but anyone who has paid attention was already well aware that these are two professionals.
Nothing was going to get in the way of wins and losses. Quite frankly, as fans both die-hard and professional, some of you were probably angrier than they were.
Check out a few of our other Eagles stories.
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