CINCINNATI — The Buffalo Bills claimed veteran cornerback Darius Slay on Wednesday. The former All-Pro was released by the Steelers this week.
Slay, 34, joins a Bills’ secondary that’s gearing up to face Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals.
Will the veteran play on Sunday? If he does, he’ll face Chase for the second time this season. Slay played in Cincinnati’s 33-31 win over Pittsburgh in October.
Slay gave up six receptions for 80 yards in that game. Chase finished with a career-high 16 receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown.
The Bengals need to beat the Bills on Sunday to keep any realistic shot at making the playoffs alive. If Slay is on the field, he’s familiar with their offense and they’re certainly familiar with him.
Burrow praised the Bills on Wednesday before the Slay news was released.
“They’re well coached. They make it difficult,” Burrow said. “They give you a lot of different looks in the secondary. They try to make everything look the same. They have good players that typically been there for a while. Most of their guys have been in that scheme now for several years now and understand the weaknesses and the strengths of it. Yeah we’ve had success against them in the past. We haven’t played them in several years. Every game is new. Look forward to going and proving it.”
Allowed 6 receptions for 80 yards in week 7, including this: https://t.co/xu24OMgz3X pic.twitter.com/CtyUhTjmWW
— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) December 3, 2025
Playoff Chances
The Bengals enter Sunday’s game with a 4-8 record. They’re two games behind the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North.
“We have everything in front of us. We just have to take care of business,” Burrow said on Wednesday.
The Bengals play the Bills on Sunday, before facing the Ravens, Dolphins, Cardinals and Browns. They have an 81% chance of making the playoffs if they win out.
All they would need is the Steelers to lose two of their final five games and the Ravens to lose one game (other than their Week 15 game vs CIN) to make the postseason for the first time since 2022.
