Bills' Sean McDermott Addresses 'Unfortunate' Darius Slay Situation amid NFL Rumors

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott says it is "unfortunate" his team waived cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram in a potentially futile bid to bring in Darius Slay.

Slay is reportedly considering retirement following his waiver claim by the Bills, while Ingram has been claimed by the Houston Texans.

McDermott told reporters Friday he had been "for sure" hoping the Bills would be able to get Ingram back after placing him on waivers.

"It's unfortunate that that unfolded and went down the way it did," McDermott said. "I'm a huge Ja'Marcus Ingram fan, and will always be. I'm always going to be in his corner, and want the best for him. So, that's really where my mind is right now."

When asked if he was still open to Slay playing in Buffalo, McDermott answered, "I'm really going to focus on our team, right now. Let's focus on our team, and coaching this game in a couple days here. And I wish him the best, him and his family."

The Pittsburgh Steelers originally signed Slay to a one-year, $10 million deal last March shortly after he won Super Bowl LIX with the Philadelphia Eagles.

After starting the first nine games of the season for the Steelers, Slay saw his snap count drop in Week 10 and lost his starting spot the following game.

He was a healthy scratch for last Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills before he was waived Tuesday.

The Bills and Eagles both put in claims for Slay, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, although Buffalo had waiver priority.

Ingram, who joined the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and had appeared in 29 games over four seasons, was subsequently waived in order to make room on the 53-man roster.

Shortly after the Bills claimed Slay, however, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN's Adam Schefter that his client wouldn't be reporting to the Bills and would instead "take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing."

Rapoport then reported Friday that the Bills had placed Slay on the reserve/did not report list but were holding on to his rights.

Ingram has seen limited playing time as a regular healthy scratch for the Bills this season. He's mostly been used on special teams, and he hadn't appeared in a game since a Nov. 9 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 10.

He could now hope to get more playing time in Houston, where the Texans could be in need of secondary help as Kamari Lassiter continues recovering from a foot injury.

The Bills, meanwhile, may need to decide what to do with their open roster spot should Slay ultimately stay away from Buffalo.