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Darius Slay Responds To Lions Trading Him To Rams

Darius Slay Responds To Lions Trading Him To Rams

Darius Slay Responds To Lions Trading Him To Rams

Darius Slay responded to the idea of Lions trading him to the Rams this week.

The Pro Bowl cornerback appears to be a fan of the move.

It is something of an open secret that Slay is on the trading block heading into this offseason. The Pro Bowl cornerback is one of Detroit’s most desired assets, and one of the few players the team would be able to get a sizable return for.

Although the Lions have a horrible defense that could stand to benefit from Slay remaining on the roster, there are just too many holes to patch up. They need to take advantage of the market interest in the 29-year-old and get multiple pieces back.

General manager Bob Quinn acknowledged that the team plans to be active this offseason.

“We’re talking to a lot of agents of our current guys, currently,” he said.

“There’s a little bit of a stall with the uncertainty of the CBA. If there’s a new CBA, a lot of things can change, in terms of how you structure things.

“You see a couple deals going for a few teams, but I think we’re having some good conversations. Nothing is past the finish line yet, but we’re hoping to get a few things done here in the next week or so.”

One of the teams Slay has been most closely linked to in recent weeks is the Rams. Although Los Angeles made a big splash last year by going out and trading for Jalen Ramsey, you can never have too many quality cornerbacks.

Given what an underwhelming year Los Angeles had last season following their Super Bowl run, clearly the team needs to do something. Slay could be just the piece they need.

For what it is worth, Ramsey is a big fan of his new squad going out and acquiring Slay. In fact, he tweeted about it this past weekend.

“sLAy RAMSey cornerback duo,” Ramsey tweeted out.

“That would be unfair,” Slay responded on Twitter.

“I’m tellin’ ya,” Ramsey shot back.

While all the players involved are clearly in favor of the move, it is difficult to see how LA gets this done.

The Rams, at this point, have practically nothing in the way of trade capital. At the moment, the team possesses just one second round pick, one third round pick and three fourth round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Beyond that, Los Angeles also owns one second round pick and one third round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

That is not a lot to work with.

Part of the reason why the Rams have so few tradeable assets is because they gave up a 2020 first rounder, a 2021 first rounder and a 2021 fourth round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars last year to acquire Ramsey.

Overall, the Rams have not drafted in the first round since 2016 when they selected quarterback Jared Goff.

The San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos have all been referenced as possible contenders for Slay’s services.

Slay is looking for a new contract before next year that will pay him in the $17 million range. He is unlikely to get that from Detroit.

“If they give me a contract, I’ll be blessed and fortunate enough for it,” Slay said at the Super Bowl.

“Like I said, I always wanted to retire as a Detroit Lion, but if it don’t happen, it’s cool. I’ll be alright. If I don’t, someone will be getting a great player.”

While the Lions will likely trade Slay sooner rather than later, it is hard to envision a scenario where his landing spot ends up being Los Angeles.

Related: Tom Brady’s Decision Narrowed To 3 NFL Teams  

Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.

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