The Lions have spoken to multiple teams about a trade involving Darius Slay, but Detroit will be adamant about what it will cost to acquire the Pro Bowl cornerback, a source told ESPN Insider Adam Schefter.
Conversations with teams include a new contract for Slay as part of the deal, Schefter reported. Slay, 29, is entering the final year of his contract in 2020.
Slay has been Detroit’s best defensive player and made three straight Pro Bowls.
Slay’s contract and his potential to be traded goes back to last year’s trade deadline, when Detroit dealt safety Quandre Diggs to Seattle. Slay was bothered by the move and said he knows that “nobody’s safe” from being dealt, along with a lack of loyalty in the league.
“Anybody can go,” Slay said after the Diggs trade. “So that’s it. You know, at the end of the day I just see it as there’s no loyalty to nothing. No matter how much you put in, they feel like it’s a little different, they can get rid of you. “So I just play ball.”
At the time, he said he would be OK if he got traded and OK if he stayed in Detroit.
Slay has been open on social media about wanting to get a new contract and recently said on Twitter that a $15-$16 million per year deal might be “too low” when a reporter suggested that could be a fair deal.
With the No. 3 pick in the draft, Detroit could be a destination for corner Jeffrey Okudah out of Ohio State, but the Lions have long searched for a reliable No. 2 corner opposite Slay and if they traded him, they would now have two cornerback spots to fill.
Schefter reported other teams believe Slay will be dealt this offseason. The Lions’ asking cost, though, will be something to watch.
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