Darius Slay has 'even spicier' answer on going on Micah Parsons' podcast during Cowboys week

PHILADELPHIA − Darius Slay got himself into a social media dustup with Eagles fans after appearing on Micah Parsons' podcast, the star linebacker of the team's bitter rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.

And Slay said he would do it again, even during Cowboys' week.

Last week, while on Parsons' podcast last week, entitled "The Edge," Slay laughed as Parsons brought up his beef with Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Parsons mentioned Gardner-Johnson's penchant for trash talking and then getting beat for a touchdown during a recent game.

Slay said he was somewhat surprised by all of the vitriol he received on social media − both for going on the podcast of a bitter rival, and for laughing at a teammate getting beat.

"I understand the rivalry of what that is," Slay said. "But yeah, it was a little surprising, like 'Hot damn!' It is what it is."

He also said there are no ill-feelings with Gardner-Johnson. Slay said they're in a defensive backs group chat, and Slay said he admires Gardner-Johnson's trash-talking.

"We holla at each other all the time," Slay said. "We saw it come across the timeline, and we’re like, ‘Oh, people going crazy, out of proportion.’ He was good about it. I was great about it … We're grown men at the end of the day. He had no bad intentions. I didn’t either. That’s what it was about. We’re still great."

Then he added: "(Gardner-Johnson) is doing (the talking) for me. There’s stuff I’d like to say, but I like to keep my peace and just chill. (Gardner-Johnson) can say it for me, for sure. I appreciate him, man. He brings a lot to this team. He does a lot of great things for us. He’s a guy that’s gonna bring a different type of energy that I bring. We appreciate it always around here."

Don't think for a minute that reaction would make Slay more careful about going on social media, or interacting with fans.

In fact, Slay said he would go on Parsons' podcast during the week of the game between the Eagles and Cowboys. The first of two games between the two teams this season is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Dallas.

Of course, such a thing would have blasphemous 30 years ago in the Seth Joyner-Michael Irvin era.

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"That’s gonna make it even spicier because I’m gonna talk my trash to him," Slay said. "I’m gonna let him know like, ‘Hey, I know we got y’all this week. We’re gonna whoop y’all’s ass.’ … I know he expects to win. I expect to win. I’m gonna tell him like, ‘You line up on (tackles) Lane (Johnson) or Jordan Mailata, you’re getting your ass locked up.’

"I’m sure he’s gonna feel like that on (Cowboys wide receivers), they feel like they’re gonna lock me up. So we always got good intentions for our team. But after that ball, we dap it up, shake it up, laugh about it, have a little manly thing."

Slay said he became friends with Parsons when Parsons was still at Penn State, before getting drafted by the Cowboys in the first round in 2021. Ironically, a draft night trade between the two rivals enabled the Eagles to take wide receiver DeVonta Smith while the Cowboys picked Parsons.

Still, Slay said none of that detracts from the unity on the Eagles defense. He said they're all trying to improve after the last game, when the Eagles were beaten 33-16 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both Slay and Gardner-Johnson had poor games, along with several others.

Both were beaten for touchdowns, and the Eagles missed 16 tackles in all. But Slay insisted the bye enabled him and his teammates to learn from the loss. After all, the Eagles face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

"This is the NFL. I play corner, too, so I gotta let the next play be the next play," Slay said. "So a game can be even easier for me (to let go). (During a game), it’s harder to do the next play because ‘Damn, I just got bombed on.’ You gotta line back up and hope you don’t get bombed on again.

"At least now I can have a week to recover and be like, ‘Alright, maybe I can do this and I’ll work on what I need to.’ In the DB world, shoot, you might have to work on something in 20 seconds because you gotta just change something you just did, and make sure you don’t make that mistake again."

As for Slay and Parsons, well, that's to be continued too.

Eagles' injuries: Nakobe Dean still limited

Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean was limited for a second straight day with an ankle injury. Dean said Thursday that he suffered the injury during the Sept. 29 game against Tampa Bay. That's an indication that the Eagles' felt good enough about Dean's availability for Sunday that they could release veteran Devin White.

Everyone else was a full participant in practice. That included wide receivers A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion), and right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion). All three missed the Eagles' last game against Tampa Bay.

"We’re good now. I’ve been practicing," Dean said.

As for White's release, Dean said: "That’s the nature of the league. I talked to him afterwards so I know how he felt about it. Wherever he goes, he wants to play. We wished each other the best."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl, on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Darius Slay has 'even spicier' answer on going on Micah Parsons' podcast during Cowboys week