Darius Slay cites Buffalo weather as one of the reasons he didn’t report to Bills

Buffalo certainly isn’t a tropical paradise, as Sabres GM Kevyn Adams made clear in an infamous press conference late last year when he brought up the city’s lack of palm trees as one of the team’s challenges in recruitment.

But Detroit and Philadelphia aren’t exactly destination hot spots, either.

Nevertheless, six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay called out Buffalo’s weather as part of his explanation for why he decided not to report to the Bills after being claimed off waivers this week. He has said he is contemplating retirement.

“I talked to them,” Slay, who was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers, told Emmanuel Echo on Speakeasy, per Syracuse.com. “It was a neutral talk. I just said, ‘Hey, man. I’m 34. I know y’all be watching tape, but I’m trying to relax with my family and kid. I ain’t feel like packing up, moving.’ And then, on top of that — no offence to Buffalo — it’s cold as hell in Buffalo. I’m from the South.”

Of course, the Georgia native’s most recent stop was Pittsburgh, which had a high of -1 C on Friday, just a tick above Buffalo’s -2 C.

There was thought when Slay was waived that he was hoping to end up with the Philadelphia Eagles or Detroit Lions, the two other NFL teams he has played for. You don’t lounge on the beach in December in those cities, either.

When asked about the possibility of returning to the Eagles or Lions before he was picked up by the Bills, Slay didn’t dismiss it outright.

“I don’t know,” Slay said of Philadelphia. “It would have been a hard time to think about it. But Philly is my second home. I don’t know how that would have hit, if it would have hit.”

Detroit? “That’s a good question right there. I don’t know.”

Ultimately, Slay decided he wasn’t ready to move to a new home for playoff drive with the Bills (8-4), who have the same number of wins as Philly (8-4) and Detroit (8-5).

“I don’t feel like packing up and moving again,” Slay said. “I’m 13 years in. … Like, they would have caught me at like 28, 29, I might have been like, ‘OK.’ That’s a top organization. They have a lot of great things going. They win, they go to the playoffs, they got a franchise quarterback. So, it wasn’t a bad fit, it just caught me at a bad time.”

Because the trade deadline has passed, the Bills can’t even try to negotiate a deal with the Lions or Eagles to try to recoup an asset. The Bills dumped veteran quarterback Ja’Marcus Ingram to make room for Slay. Ingram was then signed by the Houston Texans.