Tag: Lions trade

Lions trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams: Everything we know

Lions trade Matthew Stafford to the Rams: Everything we know

The Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams have agreed to an unprecedented trade of former No. 1 overall draft picks. The Lions are shipping QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams for QB Jared Goff and three draft picks, including two future first-rounders.

The trade cannot be made official until the new NFL league year kicks off on March 17th. However, it’s difficult to see the trade falling apart between now and then given the relationship between Lions GM Brad Holmes and the Rams, where he worked for the last 15-plus years.

 

Source: Matthew Stafford approached the Lions with the idea of being traded

Stafford went to the team before Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell were hired

The stunning decision for the Detroit Lions to part ways with quarterback Matthew Stafford was not a knee-jerk reaction by either side to the latest hirings by the team. Per a league source, Lions Wire’s Erik Schlitt confirmed that Stafford first approached the Lions about his desire to be traded before the hiring process began in earnest.

The possibility of trading Stafford was integrated into the hiring and interviewing process. As Schlitt states, candidates were informed that trading Stafford was on the table if they were to take the GM or head coaching position in Detroit.

Also of note, something that has been reported by others including Chris Burke of The Athletic: Stafford himself met with the new GM, Brad Holmes, and head coach Dan Campbell and the parties all agreed to pursue trading the longtime Lions quarterback.

Recapping the Lions draft return from the Darius Slay trade

With the draft over, let’s recap what the Detroit Lions did with the acquired picks from the Darius Slay trade.

When the Detroit Lions traded Darius Slay they were able to accumulate third (No. 85 overall) and a fifth-round (No. 166 overall) draft picks in this year’s draft.

Now with the draft behind us, we can see who the Lions turned those picks into.

Pick No. 85

In the third round, the Lions used pick No. 85 along with picks No. 149 and 182 to trade up with the Indianapolis Colts and received picks No. 75 and No. 197 in return. With the 75th pick, the Lions selected Ohio State guard Jonah Jackson. With the loss of Graham Glasgow to free agency, the Lions needed a replacement, and Jackson will look to fill that role.

Jackson has the body of an NFL guard and a mean streak of, well, a Lion. With his engaging hands and excellent balance, he is proficient in both run and pass blocking, and it shows allowing only one sack in three seasons. He has the versatility to line up anywhere along the interior, but he will more than likely find a home right next to Hal Vaitai and create a 625 lb force on the right side fo the offensive line. With the Lions possibly looking to transition to more of a  power running game, he should be an essential piece to making that scheme work.

Pick No. 166

With the 166th overall selection, the Lions picked Wisconsin wide receiver, Quintez Cephus. The Lions did not have an immediate need at wide receiver, but with no receivers signed beyond 2020, they needed to have a plan in place, and Cephus fills that need.

Cephus is a big-bodied, versatile receiver who led Wisconsin in receiving yards with 901. Even though his speed may be of concern, he more than makes up for it with his explosion and intelligence leaving defenders scrambling and grabbing for air. He uses his basketball background to box out defenders and grab any contested catch that is thrown his way. Cephus will likely open camp as WR 4/5 but could be a stater in 2021.

Pick No. 197

With 197th pick, the Lions received in the Colts trade, the Lions selected Utah defensive tackle John Penisini. He is a behemoth of a lineman who will slide in the defensive line rotation, possibly rotating at the 1- and 3-techniques. Due to his strong gap integrity and robust mechanics, his run-stopping is where he makes his money. His pass-rushing will need some coaching up, but he should be a physical presence on the defensive line.

Cap relief

Along with the draft picks, the Lions signed Desmond Trufant shortly before they traded Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles. Trufant signed a 2-year, $21 million with the Lions and the Eagles extended Slay for 3-years, $50.5 million. The Lions were able to save $10.5 million and only incurred a $2.9 million dead cap hit, giving them the cap flexibility for Trufant’s $7.2 million cap hit in 2020.

Summary

At the end of the day, this is how the trade panned out for the Lions:

Received: Lost:
Jonah Jackson Darius Slay (Eagles)
Quintez Cephus Pick 149 and 182 (Colts)
John Penisini
$10.5 million in cap room ($7.2 million used on Trufant)

Through the Slay trade, the Lions were able to take full advantage of the received assets. With the draft picks, they were able to get players to help shore up some of the roster’s biggest holes, and with the extra cap space, they brought in a savvy veteran to help bridge the loss of Slay, as well as act as a mentor to first-round selection Jeff Okudah.

Only time will tell if the Lions made out with this trade or not, but its hard to ignore the Lions came away with a solid haul.

Lions trade No. 109 pick to the Raiders for two picks

Lions picked up a 4th and a 5th

Lions fans will have to wait a bit longer than expected to learn who the team’s first pick of Day 3 will be. The Lions traded their first pick, No. 109 overall, to the Las Vegas Raiders.

In exchange for the third pick of the fourth round, the Lions picked up a later fourth-round pick, No. 121 overall, and a fifth-round pick, No. 172.

With the pick, the Raiders selected Clemson guard John Simpson.

The Lions failed 2018 trade for Gronk fully revealed

Details of the Lions and Patriots trade worked out in the 2018 NFL Draft for Rob Gronkowski, but Gronk smashed the deal

Now that superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski has agreed to come out of retirement and accept a trade from the New England Patriots to the Detroit Lions, the details of the last time the Pats attempted to deal Gronk have come out.

That was during the 2018 draft and the other team was none other than the Detroit Lions. Widely reported at the time, the deal fell through when Gronk told the Patriots he would retire rather than not play with Tom Brady as his quarterback.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out the exact details of the agreed-upon trade between the Lions and Patriots that Gronk smashed.

The Lions drafted Frank Ragnow with the No. 20 pick. Ironically enough, the Patriots wound up trading No. 43 overall to the Lions for No. 51 and the Lions’ 4th-rounder, No. 117 overall. Detroit drafted Kerryon Johnson with the acquired pick. The Patriots wound up trading both picks they got in the deal.

Darius Slay happy he ‘don’t have to deal with’ Matt Patricia anymore

Darius Slay happy he ‘don’t have to deal with’ Matt Patricia anymore in a scathing interview with The Mitch Albom Show on WJR in Detroit

Darius Slay joined the Mitch Albom Show on WJR in Detroit on Thursday, hours after his trade from the Detroit Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles. Slay had nothing but positive things to say about the city of Detroit and the Lions fans.

About Matt Patricia, however…

Slay unloaded with several scathing criticisms of his former coach.

“Of course I wanted to stay (in Detroit) for a minute, but I already knew how me and Matt Patricia is, that wasn’t going to last long,” Slay said, referring to his old coach with contempt clear in his voice.

He then brought up Patricia telling him he wasn’t an elite player and didn’t deserve to be training with elite players like Richard Sherman and Aqib Talib in the offseason.

Slay’s take on that?

“That’s the whole point, I didn’t get the thought, sitting here telling me not to go work with somebody, I’m not elite,” Slay continued. “If I ain’t elite in your eyes, at least I’m trying to go compete with guys and work with guys, pick their brains and become elite.”

Later in the interview, Albom asked Slay if he had anything to say to Patricia. Slay opted for diplomacy and took about the highest road he could.

“I wouldn’t say nothing, I’d just go about my day,” he said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t probably feel nothing inside. I live my life, he lives his. I just don’t have to deal with him.”

The full interview, broken into four segments, is available via the Mitch Albom Show Twitter feed.

Eagles make Darius Slay the highest-paid CB in the NFL

Eagles make Darius Slay the highest-paid CB in the NFL with a 3-year, $50 million extension

Darius Slay was traded from Detroit for one reason: money. Slay made no secret of his desire to get paid more than he was already making on his 4-year, $48 million contract he signed with the Lions in 2017. The Lions regime of GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia was not going to give into his demands.

Slay’s overriding desire to become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL worked out for him, just not with Detroit. The Lions traded the Pro Bowler to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday morning, just hours after he prodded them to make a move.

The Eagles sent a 3rd round pick (No. 85 overall) and a 5th-rounder (tbd, the Eagles have multiple) to the Lions to acquire Slay. The deal was contingent on Slay agreeing to a new contract, and that quickly resolved itself.

The $16.75 million per year average leapfrogs Byron Jones in Miami to make Slay the highest-paid CB in the NFL. Slay’s old contract ranked 14th, tied with Bradley Roby’s new deal.

The Lions balked at paying Slay for two reasons. First, his age. He’s now 29, and Detroit wasn’t willing to commit that sort of money to a player past his athletic prime. Secondly, he’s coming off his worst season since his rookie year and that arrow might not point back up again. It’s a risk the Lions were unwilling to take.

The Eagles did. Time will tell if their expensive gamble pays off.

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.