Steelers to cut ties with CB Darius Slay, will sign Asante Samuel Jr. to 53-man roster

The Darius Slay experiment as a starting cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers ended a few weeks ago. His time with the organization ended Tuesday.

Slay, who started the first nine games after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Steelers in free agency, will be waived, according to a league source. This will enable the Steelers to sign Asante Samuel Jr. to the 53-man roster.

In a precursor to that announcement, the Steelers re-signed Penn Hills native and former Penn State defensive back Daequan Hardy to the practice squad. Wide receiver Cornell Powell was released from the practice squad.

Slay was inactive Sunday for the second time in the past three games. Unlike the first instance, when Slay was dealing with a concussion, he was a healthy scratch for the game against the Buffalo Bills.

James Pierre started in Slay’s place. When Pierre left the game with concussion symptoms, he was replaced by Samuel Jr.

Samuel’s 28 snaps represented his first game action since the fourth week of the 2024 season. He missed the rest of that season with neck and shoulder injuries, and he had spinal fusion surgery in April. Samuel joined the Steelers practice squad Nov. 12.

The Steelers decided to add Samuel to the 53-man roster rather than risk another team signing him to a lucrative deal off their practice squad.

“It was less about Slay and more about an opportunity to get to see Samuel,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday before the Steelers added Samuel to the active roster. “He’s a global NFL starter type who has been on our practice squad. This time of the year attrition sets in, things happen and we wanted to have an opportunity to see him in stadium before we had to make a decision on him before someone else forced our hand.”

A 13-year veteran, Slay earned a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles last season and was one of the Steelers’ top acquisitions in free agency. He was signed to replace cornerback Donte Jackson, who also was a free agent.

Slay was a six-time Pro Bowl selection in his career split with the Detroit Lions and Eagles. He was named a first-team All-Pro player in 2017 with Detroit.