The Eagles and Chiefs feature former members of the Detroit Lions.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. (2) talks to the media during Super Bowl LIX Opening Night / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs feature a handful of players who used to play for the Detroit Lions.
Four ex-Lions players are currently on the rosters of the teams that will appear in Super Bowl 59 from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Defensive backs Darius Slay and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are the only two players (Eagles) on the active roster. Defensive lineman Charles Harris (Eagles) and tight end Anthony Firkser (Chiefs) are currently on the practice squad.
Slay, 34, has been credited by several members of the defense and coaching staff for assisting in developing the young defensive backs on the Eagles roster, including rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
“I think anytime you have a veteran who is so transparent about his struggles as an early player, whether it’s stuff on and off the field, and he shares those experiences with young guys, that’s so valuable. He really embraces that role because he had great leaders when he was a young player in Detroit,” Eagles secondary coach Christian Parker said this week. “And so he really embraces the fact that he knew how impactful that was for him.
“So, he tries to have the same impact for those guys. He’s a phenomenal teammate,” Parker continued. “I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to coach him and that our young guys have an opportunity to be around him as well.”
Mitchell noted that a veteran embracing rookies is not always the case across the league.
“He’s meant a lot to me,” Mitchell expressed during his media availability. “I don’t think I would have had the success I’ve had without him. He’s been a big brother, been a teammate. I can come to him about anything. On the football side, he’s helped me a lot. But in real life, outside of football, he’s helped me a lot as well. Talking to guys from other teams, that kind of shocked me, because that’s not always the case. But we’ve got great veterans here.”
