Report: It was Lions who reached out to Broncos about Darius Slay in 2019

The Lions reached out to the Broncos last season to find out if they were interested in trading for cornerback Darius Slay.

The Broncos had trade talks with the Lions about cornerback Darius Slay before the NFL trade deadline last year but Denver wasn’t the team that initiated the conversation.

Detroit reached out to the Broncos to gauge if Denver would have any interest in potentially trading for Slay, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Broncos general manager John Elway must have had some interest because the team was willing to swap cornerback Chris Harris in a potential deal with the Lions.

Detroit also wanted a high draft pick, though, and Elway opted not to make the trade. Now that Slay is on the trade block again, will Denver take another look?

It’s possible but seems unlikely.

The fact that the Broncos weren’t the team that initiated trade talks last year seems to indicate that Slay wasn’t a must-have target for them. His price tag (a high draft pick and around $15 million a year) also hurts the chances of a potential trade.

Denver could keep its draft pick and sign one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s free agent class, such as Byron Jones. The team could also just give Harris an extension — or give Harris an extension and sign Jones.

In short, the team has plenty of options and giving up draft capital for a 29-year-old cornerback doesn’t seem to be the top choice.

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