Tag: Darius Slay

Darius Slay traded to the Philadelphia Eagles

The Detroit Lions have traded Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles

Darius Slay got his wish. The disgruntled cornerback will now get his desired new contract, but not from the Detroit Lions.

Detroit has agreed to send the Pro Bowl cornerback to the Philadelphia Eagles in a trade. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and validated by other sources from both sides of the deal, the Lions are dealing Slay to the Eagles. The reported compensation in return to Detroit is 3rd-round and 5th-round draft picks in 2020.

As part of the deal, the Eagles will do what the Lions would not: pay Slay a lucrative contract extension. Slay was entering the final season of his 4-year, $48 million contract and had been angling for more money for over a year.

Eagles and Lions discussing the “framework” of a trade involving CB Darius Slay

Eagles and Lions discussing a trade involving CB Darius Slay

The Philadelphia Eagles have been interested in Darius Slay for the better part of two years now and on Thursday morning shortly after midnight, Josina Anderson of ESPN is reporting that discussions are being had involving the star cornerback.

According to the report, the Eagles and Lions are discussing the framework of a deal that would send Slay to Philadelphia after the Birds work out a contract extension with the Detroit star.

The news comes on the heels of Slay again voicing his displeasure in Detroit in requesting a “speedy” trade after the Lions inked Desmond Trufant to a deal.

Slay leads NFL in passes broken up since 2015 and is one of just 2 cornerbacks named to 3 straight Pro Bowls (Jalen Ramsey).

Adding Slay to the roster would finally give the Eagles the shutdown caliber cornerback that they’ve lacked.

Slay is currently among top-15 highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL according to Over The Cap, and he’d come at a decent rate, of $10 million per season with a $13 million cap hit.

REPORT: Raiders interested in trading for CB Darius Slay and the interest is mutual

Raiders said to be interested in trading for CB Darius Slay and the interest is mutual

Right out the gates of the free-agent negotiating period, the Raiders went after top free-agent cornerback, Byron Jones. They offered him similar record deal as the Dolphins, but the Dolphins had more money upfront so that’s where he went.

After losing out on Byron Jones, I put the question out there as to who the Raiders backup plan might be. The two most common answers were Chris Harris Jr and Darius Slay, who wasn’t a free agent, but who was reportedly on the trade block.

The Raiders made an offer to Harris as well, but he turned them away, saying he liked the defense in Los Angeles better. Then the Raiders agreed to a deal with Eli Apple and many thought they had settled on him after losing out on Jones and Harris and that was that.

That, apparently, is not that. Apple should not be looked at automatically as the answer to start across from Trayvon Mullen, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, and the Raiders are instead exploring the possibility of a trade for Slay.

The 29-year-old is not expected to be too costly. He wants a new deal and the Lions don’t want to give it to him and they’d simply like to get something in return for him. The Raiders have two first-round picks (No. 12, No. 19) and three third-round picks (No. 80, No. 81, No. 91).

Slay isn’t just sitting back and letting this happen either. He is openly rooting for it. He tweeted out Wednesday afternoon, following the team signing former Falcons’ cornerback Desmond Trufant “Hope that speeds up my trade process!!” and adding in another tweet about the Lions wanting to trade him “They need to hurry it up.”

That covers his urge to be traded. But then Raiders starting cornerback Trayvon Mullen joined the conversation. He asked Slay “what’s the play” to which Slay responded just with three sets of eyeballs.

After that Mullen noted Slay’s twitter background, which is a shot of Slay standing on the field in Oakland Coliseum. Mullen said “I’m feeling that picture behind the profile… or am I tripping” to which Slay responded, “Nice right lol.”

So, the Raiders are flirting with the idea of trading for Darius Slay. And the All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl cornerback is flirting right back. What a get that would be for the Raiders if they could land him. Especially if all it cost them was one of their three third-round picks.

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Cordarrelle Patterson recruiting Lions CB Darius Slay to Chicago

Bears KR Cordarrelle Patterson continued his recruiting spree Wednesday night with Lions CB Darius Slay.

Cordarrelle Patterson may want to consider becoming a recruiter when his  NFL career is over.

The All-Pro kick returner has spent the week reaching out to fellow players across the league, seeing if they want to come to the Chicago Bears.

The pitches began with free agent quarterbacks such as Teddy Bridgewater and Tom Brady, both of whom agreed to deals with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively.

Now, Patterson has shifted his focus to the defensive side of the ball by reaching out to Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay. The three-time Pro Bowl corner has been adamant about his desire to exit Detroit and reiterated those demands Wednesday night when the Lions signed former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant.

When Patterson saw Slay’s reaction, he decided to reach out to the 29 year-old to see how he was doing.

The Bears do have a need in the secondary following the release of veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara in February, but acquiring Slay feels like a pipe dream at this point.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Lions are seeking a day-two draft pick (second or third rounder) for Slay, who has one year left on his contract and is coming off a season where he played 14 games, intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble.

General manager Ryan Pace does have a pair of second-round draft picks at his disposal and isn’t shy about trading away draft capital to acquire NFL talent, as demonstrated by the team’s acquisition of QB Nick Foles for a fourth-round pick on Wednesday.

But would Pace make another bold move to add a Pro-Bowl caliber player to the back end of the defense to play opposite of cornerback Kyle Fuller? Slay would be a welcome addition, but with a new contract looming, and the Bears draft capital now dwindling, a deal doesn’t seem to be on the horizon.

Patterson, who claims he is just checking in on his friends, will continue to shoot his shot to see how other players feel about playing in the “Windy City.” But despite Slay and the Lions both looking for a split, his destination likely won’t be Chicago.

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Darius Slay hoping for a speedy trade from Lions after they acquire Desmond Trufant

2020 NFL Free Agency: Darius Slay hoping for speedy trade from Lions

The Detroit Lions quietly went about adding Desmond Trufant to their franchise after agreeing to a two-year, $21 million deal with the former Falcons star.

Trufant would look great paired with Darius Slay, but the Lions star cornerback has made it known for months that he wants out and he doubled down on his position shortly after the Lions made the free-agent signing.

A Pro-Bowler and All-Pro caliber cornerback who had only allowed 15 completions on 27 targets for just 189 yards and one touchdown through last November, Slay leads NFL in passes broken up since 2015 and is one of just 2 cornerbacks named to 3 straight Pro Bowls (Jalen Ramsey).

Adding Slay to the Eagles secondary could finally allow players like Jalen Mills (safety), Avonte Maddox, Cre’Von LeBlanc and Rasul Douglas to flourish, without the pressure of assuming a shutdown role.

Slay is currently in the top-15 highest-paid cornerback in the NFL according to Over The Cap, and he’d come at a decent rate, of $10 million per season with a $13 million cap hit.

Slay is set to hit free agency following the 2020 season, and will definitely want a new deal.

Detroit will likely seek a first-round pick in return and with Howie Roseman needing to an explosive receiver to the offense, the Eagles could be unwilling to risk trying to land that star in the second round.

Darius Slay throws gasoline on the trade sparks with the Lions

Darius Slay throws gasoline on the trade sparks with the Lions

Darius Slay has been fairly diplomatic about his status with the Detroit Lions. The Pro Bowl cornerback ended the playing nice on Wednesday night.

He wants out of Detroit and doesn’t care who knows about it.

That’s the only reasonable conclusion after Slay’s posts on Twitter in reaction to the Lions signing Desmond Trufant. In two separate posts, Slay pulls no punches. He asks for the Lions to hurry up and trade him.

The Pro Bowl cornerback has desired a new contract dating back to last offseason, but the Lions have held firm on making him honor the final years of his 4-yer, $48 million contract.

That appears to be up in flames now…

There’s not much grey area there. Slay wants out so he can get paid somewhere else.

Report: Lions agree to terms with CB Desmond Trufant on 2-year deal

Multiple sources are reporting that the Detroit Lions have come to an agreement with cornerback Desmond Trufant on a 2-year deal.

Multiple sources are reporting that the Detroit Lions have come to an agreement with former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant.

The deal was first announced by ESPN Analyst Jordan Schultz, who also included the terms of the deal — 2-years worth $21 million, with $14 million guaranteed.

The former first-round pick in 2013 — now 29-years old — was coming off a four-interception season before he went down with a broken forearm in Week 14. After spending his entire career with the Falcons, they released him in a  cost-cutting move just two days ago.

At 6-0, 190 pounds, with 4.38-second speed, and an impressive 6.67second 3-cone drill time, Trufant checks off all the athletic boxes the Lions’ desire in their cornerbacks.

Over his seven years in the NFL, his overall Pro Football grades ranged from 69.5 to 82.8, with his coverage grade landing between 65 and 82.5, all above average scores.

Pairing Trufant and Darius Slay together would give the Lions a formidable tandem at outside corner, but there is a real possibility this makes a Slay trade a potential reality. We will have to wait and see.

Darius Slay has big praise for Terry McLaurin

More big praise for the breakout Redskins star.

One of the NFL’s best corners has some high praise for Washington Redskins breakout wideout Terry McLaurin.

Darius Slay of the Detroit Lions aimed some direct praise at McLaurin during a recent interview session on social media.

“To be honest, that whole year, besides Keenan Allen, he was my hardest one that I covered that whole year,” Slay said, according to NBC Sports’ Ethan Cadeaux . “He probably would have scored on me two times.”

Slay has actually been an interesting topic around the Redskins because we’ve openly wondered whether the team should pursue a trade for him.

But more to the point, it’s a big-time moment when a corner of Slay’s caliber singles out a rookie wideout. On sheer basic numbers alone most know McLaurin had a special breakout season — but it’s a different sort of endorsement when an elite pro notes he had a hard time with a new rookie.

We’ll have to wait and see if Slay gets shipped somewhere else this offseason before declaring whether he’ll get a rematch with McLaurin. If he does, it’ll be one of the top matchups of Washington’s season.

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A.J. Bouye trade opens the market, but the Lions should expect more for Darius Slay

Examining how the Jaguars trading cornerback A.J. Bouye could impact the market for the Lions potentially shopping Darius Slay.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, when the league’s new year begins on March 18th, the Jacksonville Jaguars will trade cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos for a 2020 fourth-round pick.

There are several parallels that can be drawn between Bouye’s situation and that of Detroit Lions’ own top cornerback Darius Slay. They are close in age and production — Slay is slightly older and more productive — and both are nearing the end of a large contract, Slay in his final year while Bouye has two remaining.

Slay has suggested he has high contract demands, which has caused the Lions some trepidation in handing over another big-money deal, after seeing their last big contract extension — to Damon Harrison — blow up in their face.

In turn, it should be no surprise that Lions general manager Bob Quinn privately told a group of local reporters that included our own Jeff Risdon, that the team was exploring trade possibilities for Slay — hoping to potentially get some value out of one of their best assets.

“I think what we’re trying to do is explore a trade,” Quinn said. “That’s not saying we are definitely trading him. We’ve had some conversations with other teams. Nothing to report right now. We’re very much in the information gather phase of this.”

Seeing the return on the Jaguars got for Bouye has almost assuredly left Quinn disappointed.

While there are parallels between Bouye and Slay, the Jaguars and the Lions are in two very different spots.

The Jaguars are very much in sell mode after entering the season with their salary cap in the red. The Bouye trade frees up around $11.5 million and they elected not to pick up stud defensive tackle Marcell Dareus’ option, giving them another $20+ million in space. The Jaguars have suggested they are clearing room to use the franchise tag on EDGE rusher Yannick Ngakoue — someone the Lions could be interested in — but he has said publicly he has asked to be allowed to leave. Bottom line, this was a move the Jaguars almost had to make.

Meanwhile, the Lions are sitting on roughly $50 million in cap space — including Slay’s current deal of $13.4 million — and are in no rush to give him away for less than an ideal return.

Slay has made the last three Pro Bowls and most believe he is still an upper-echelon player. I don’t believe the Lions would even entertain a Day 3 offer for his services, and local reporters have suggested it would likely take a late second round or multiple Day 2 picks in order to get a deal done.

The Bouye deal shows how veterans are devalued when it comes to offseason trades, especially when a team is feeling the pressure. The Lions, while under pressure to win, should be in no rush to make a decision on one of their top players unless the deal is too good to pass up.

Bengals suggested as trade candidate for Darius Slay

Would the Bengals make a move for Darius Slay?

When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals, the big trade idea right now is shipping quarterback Andy Dalton somewhere — like perhaps the Chicago Bears.

But what about the Bengals getting aggressive and bringing on an outsider?

That’s an idea floated by Eric Eager of Pro Football Focus, who suggested the team as a suitor for Detroit Lions corner Darius Slay. He pointed out the Bengals picking so highly in each round could equate to, for example, a high third-round pick feeling like a second-round pick in negotiations.

It’s not bad logic on the compensation front. And Slay is one of the better corners in football at the age of 29.

That said, Slay has implied he wants to be one of the NFL’s highest-paid corners after being a cap hit of about $13.3 million in 2020. The Lions are also in a position to bargain for a massive trade return.

While the Bengals do potentially have a need at corner with Darqueze Dennard heading to free agency, Dre Kirkpatrick is already on a bloated contract and they’d like to extend William Jackson. The team is more likely to roll with what it has, especially with Darius Phillips on the rise.

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