It’s been known for a while that Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay is on the trade market, and he made it clear on Wednesday night that he’d like to play somewhere else.
After ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that the Lions had signed former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant, Slay tweeted, “Congrats to my guy!!!! Hope that speeds up my trade process!!”
Welp.
Slay, 29, has been selected to the Pro Bowl in three straight seasons, and has 19 interceptions over the last six seasons (including an NFL-best eight interceptions in an All-Pro 2017 season). He’s in the final year of his current contract (with a base salary of $10 million in 2020), and expects to land big-time money on his next deal.
In February, Schefter tweeted that the Lions had spoken to multiple teams about trading for Slay, and that other teams believed he’d be dealt, but the Lions were “adamant on (his) value.”
Well, the Lions’ leverage in trade negotiations likely took a hit by Slay making it clear he wants out.
UPDATE: Just hours after Slay’s tweet, the Lions traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles for third and fifth-round draft picks. And then he signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension with the Eagles, which makes him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL (as he hoped).
UPDATE II: Slay reportedly said on the radio on Thursday that he doesn’t respect Lions head coach Matt Patricia.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.