“Darius Slay Is Not A Liar”: Ex-Chiefs QB Defends The Free Agent For Snubbing Jalen Hurts In His Elite QB List

Darius Slay was released by the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this week. Despite not having signed anywhere yet, he’s already making waves. Complex asked him to name his top four elite QBs in the NFL right now, and Slay responded with an answer most would agree with: Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.

However, his teammate and Super Bowl 59 MVP, Jalen Hurts was conspicuously absent from that list. The short clip has since been blown way out of proportion, with many outlets characterizing it as a salty Slay throwing shade at the team that released him. However, Slay has already indicated that a return to the Eagles is very much a possibility, pointing out a similar situation in 2022 when Philly cut and re-signed him on a restructured deal.

On FS1’s The Facility, former NFL backup QB Chase Daniel also pointed out that what Slay said was not crazy or a lie or anything. It was merely a reasonable answer to the question he was posed.

“Darius Slay is not a liar… If you poll 32 NFL teams and their starters and their executives and everyone that knows anything about actual QB play, they would say, yeah, the four elite QBs are Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson,” he stated.

“To put Jalen Hurts in that category—I can’t, and quite honestly I don’t know how anyone can…. There’s been plenty of non-elite QBs who have won Super Bowls.”

Hurts did win Super Bowl MVP, but Saquon Barkley was their best player for most of the season. Hurts has shown he can step up when the team needs him to, but that’s not nearly as often as guys like Mahomes, Burrow, Lamar, or Allen. You’d like to see a teammate put you up top. But even so, it’s a pretty reasonable answer when you look at the raw data and the tape.

And, as Daniel said, just because you win a Super Bowl doesn’t mean you’re elite. Nick Foles and Peyton Manning circa 2015 are a couple of recent examples. Even Matthew Stafford in 2021 probably wasn’t considered an elite, top-tier QB like this either.

Slay also addressed the video on his Twitter, saying that he had no hate and nothing but love for Hurts. He also said that he believes Hurts is in the group of “next man up” QBs that could enter that elite conversation very soon.

Darius Slay has been a great supporter of Hurts throughout his career. Talking on the field after their Super Bowl win, he sang Hurts’ praises right in front of the QB. And Slay recounted how he informed Hurts that this would be “his team” back when the QB was a rookie in 2020. Hurts nodded his head to confirm the truth of that tale.

This has predictably created a hubbub within Eagles Nation. Of course, All-Pro wideout A.J. Brown felt the need to say his piece online. He complained that the whole situation reminded him of “high school”, with people making claims rather than just listening to what a person has said. He’s not wrong.

This will likely die down soon, especially if Darius Slay ends up returning to the Eagles as he recently hinted. Slay said he had spoken with general manager Howie Roseman about the situation. Both sides understand this is a strictly financial move. So, if no other team offers him a better deal, Slay will likely remain in the City of Brotherly Love.

Slay has also indicated he would be interested in returning to the team that drafted him, the Detroit Lions, or to the Washington Commanders—but the latter only “if the price is right”.