The Detroit Lions have decided to trade the outstanding veteran cornerback, Darius Slay, to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a couple of draft picks. The Detroit Lions will receive a third round pick (85th overall) and fifth round selection (166th overall) in the 2020 NFL draft from the Philadelphia Eagles.
After receiving Slay in this trade the Philadelphia Eagles have come to an agreement on a contract extension with the highly respected Pro Bowl cornerback. The new deal is a three year contract extension worth a reportedly $50 million. It includes approximately $30 million in total guaranteed money, a $13 million signing bonus, and an opt out clause following the 2021 – 2022 NFL season.
Slay will earn an annual average salary of $16,683,333 which makes him the highest paid cornerback in the National Football League. Prior to this deal the Miami Dolphins cornerback, Byron Jones, held that title after signing a 5 five year $82.5 million contract during this offseason. That averages out to a nice $16.5 million per season. Slay is now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when he will be 33 years old at that time.
Slay’s Football Background
The native of Brunswick, Georgia decided to attend Itawamba Community College for his freshman year before transferring to Mississippi State University. He played with the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the 2011 – 2012 and 2012 – 2013 college football seasons. Slay was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions with the 36th overall draft pick.
Throughout his time with the Detroit Lions, Slay was selected to three straight NFL Pro Bowls (2017, 2018, 2019) for his work in the defensive secondary over the last three seasons. He was named to the NFL’s First Team All Pro in 2017. That was the same year that he led the National Football League in interceptions along with Kevin Byard of the Tennessee Titans with 8 picks.
Now Slay will begin his 8th year of his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles while in his prime. Although he was greatly appreciative for his time with the Detroit Lions, I’m sure he is happy to be with a better organization that often makes the NFL playoffs and can compete in the NFC. During his NFL career Slay has racked up 347 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 19 interceptions, and 104 pass deflections. He should fill the void the Eagles have after losing their star defensive back, Malcolm Jenkins.
Darius Slay tweeted: “Detroit! Ya’ll have been so good to me & my family. I’m going to miss all the fans & showing the city love. I appreciate the fans, coaches, staff & City. Nothing but love & respect to y’all. To my Eagles fans, ya boii is READY TO WORK! @MeekMill whats goooood! #Eagles #FlyHigh:”
“Oh man, it’s a great organization, great guys,” Slay stated. “I know a couple of guys on the team, man, they talk highly about them. About the organization, about the owners, about everything. From the top down they seem like an amazing organization. I’m looking forward to going out there and trying to help whatever they needing me to do. I want to be a great teammate, as I’ve always been. Continue to keep competing at a high level as I’ve always been and I thank the Eagles organization for believing in me and trusting in me to go out there and handle the job they need me to do. I’m looking forward to going out there and competing with them.”
“It’s a business, so it should be looked at as a business aspect of it,” says Slay. “If it was up to me, I would love to be here my whole career. But one thing about a lot of stuff that comes, first is my family, so I’ll do what’s best for my family, for them first and put my family in great position to never have to want for nothing.
“So that’s my goal, and if that’s being [in Detroit], I’m here. If it ain’t, then I ain’t.”
“Overall, for a high school player, they look up to dudes like that and it just means a lot to them,” the Michigan State point guard Rocket Watts expressed. “Just knowing that a dude in the NFL that has already been in your shoes, to reach out to you and have somebody like that you can talk to and, you know, get advice and stuff like that. It means a lot.”
“From the top down they seem like an amazing organization,” Slay explained. “I’m looking forward to going out there and trying to help whatever they needing me to do. I want to be a great teammate, as I’ve always been.
“I thank the Eagles organization for believing in me and trusting in me to go out there and handle the job they need me to do. I’m looking forward to going out there and competing with them.”
“[He said], ‘What’s up Slay, man? I love your game.’ He was talking about my style of play and we just chopped it up for a minute. I asked him to sign my game jersey. He signed it. We took good pictures. It was like a dream come true,” Slay exclaimed. “I didn’t have many words to say because I was still in shock mode, like, ‘I’m really meeting Kobe Bryant.’“
“He’s a true competitor. He worked on his craft, and I believe that the work you put in is what you get out of it. Me, knowing who I am, I put in a lot of work into what I do. I like to compete, I work on my techniques, I work on my film study. I’m like that,” says Slay.
“And he made it look like a guy that wasn’t scared to ask other guys for help or information. Everybody was comparing him to [Michael] Jordan, this and that, but you could see that he would go to Jordan and ask questions. … He picked his brain and that’s the kind of guy I am. I love all the corners, and I don’t care what you do, who’s considered better, who’s the best, I am going to go ask you, ‘What did you do on this play to stop that?’ … It’s just about being willing to do anything to be good and be great.”
“Other than that, I think I played frickin’ fantastic. I’m not going to say the [ultimate] level but it was dang sure good enough to make the Pro Bowl for a third year in a row,” Slay proclaimed. “For fans, they’re just looking from a numbers standpoint. But from film and watching tape, coaches love me. I think a lot of coaches would love me to be on their defense, actually.”
“Whatever the defense needs me to do, I’ll do it,” Slay stated. “I just want to do anything to help the team win.”
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