Darius Slay said he wanted to return to the Detroit Lions when his contract was up. “He didn’t want to leave the team”, complimented coach Jim Caldwell and today he signs an extension to stay in that beautiful Honolulu blue. Darius Slay signed a four year deal worth $50.2 million, with $23 million guaranteed. Detroit now has their number one cornerback locked up for the next five years.
Darius Slay was taken in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and has helped the Lions secondary improve immensely since joining the team. Slay is only 25 years old so he still has time to improve and be a steal for Detroit with this contract. Slay so far has 123 tackles, 31 assisted tackles, four interceptions and 37 pass deflections. Slay has been a shutdown type of cornerback since being on the team and took over the number one role in 2014. Josh Norman, one of the best cornerbacks in the game and who is 28 years old, got a five year deal for $75 million. Darrelle Revis, who is 31 years old signed a five year deal for roughly $70 million. Richard Sherman, a cornerback who many people claim to be the best in the league got a four year deal for $56 million at 28 years old.
Slay is 25 years old and is easily a top 10 cornerback in this league. Slay had said he was a top seven cornerback, and his contract actually ends up being ranked seventh in the league. He isn’t respected by majority of NFL analysts and for Detroit to sign him to a four year deal at that price, is great deal for Detroit. $70 plus million would have been too steep a price because he isn’t a top 3 cornerback in the league (yet), but he deserves at least $60 million and we got him for almost $10 million less than that. Locking Darius Slay in for another 4 years is a huge boost for the Lions and their secondary. Detroit knew they needed to bring him back and got the deal done before the season started so he can focus on playing and being his best self; Slay is nothing if not a player who works hard on his craft.
What’s next for Slay? I wouldn’t be surprised to hear news of wedding bells within the next year.
https://twitter.com/_bigplayslay23/status/758065461007380480
Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves, but he and Jenn Williams have been very public in their affection for each other. Why bring this up? This leads us to believe that Darius slay has everything he needs to remove off the field distractions and settle in with Detroit to take his shot at becoming one of the best corners in the league.
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