Getty Darius Slay celebrates a big play.
The Detroit Lions will not get shut out of the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl after all. Tuesday night, cornerback Darius Slay was revealed to be making the game.
.@_bigplayslay23 is heading to his third consecutive #ProBowl. Congrats!
It was Slay’s third consecutive Pro Bowl for the team. Additionally, the Lions landed a few alternates to the game as well, including one potential snub for the game itself as it relates to the entire league.
Kenny Golladay, Matthew Stafford Pro Bowl Alternates
Both Golladay and Stafford were selected as third and fifth alternates respectively, and it’s possible that Golladay is one of the bigger snubs of this season given how well he has played in 2019.
From nearly the start of the season until now, Golladay has been having an excellent season catching the ball. So far, he’s put up 1.052 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s had some huge games already this season, and five times Golladay has gone well over 100 yards in a game catching the ball for the Lions. He’s been arguably one of the best wideouts this season in the NFL.
In total, Golladay has enjoyed arguably the best start to a career of any wideout in his 2017 draft class not named JuJu Smith-Schuster. With 1,783 yards and 12 touchdowns thus far in his career coming into the 2019 season on the field, Golladay looks like an obvious top dog in Detroit for the foreseeable future with Matthew Stafford tossing him the rock. That’s good news for the Lions, who have long pondered how to find production at the wideout position minus Calvin Johnson. Not an issue anymore with Golladay taking over.
Stafford, when healthy in 2019, looked like a potential MVP candidate. He posted 2,499 yards and 19 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions. Stafford looked comfortable in Darrell Bevell’s offensive scheme, and the hope will be he can return healthy in 2020 and pick up where he left off. Knowing he’s gone on injured reserve, it doesn’t seem likely Stafford will be involved in the game, but it’s possible.
Darius Slay a big Play Player
As for the perennial Pro Bowler, Slay has been elite since being a second round draft pick of the Lions back in 2013, and has developed into one of the elite shut down corners in the entire league. He’s also a star for the Lions in the community, and arguably, is one of the top faces of the franchise at this point in time.
This past offseason, Slay missed the OTA period for Detroit amid wanting a new contract. While the Lions haven’t worked anything out with him, they also haven’t closed the door on making his re-signing a priority in the future, meaning a trade is possible if the team wants to move on. Slay also had a strong reaction to the team dealing Quandre Diggs for a draft pick a few months ago.
The Lions will get Slay to the Pro Bowl again, and he’s likely to be the only one who goes to the game when all is said and done for 2020.
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