Philadelphia Eagles Linked to Lions Pro Bowl Cornerback: Report

Eagles GM Howie Roseman is on the clock. The NFL trade deadline is 24 hours away and the latest rumors involve another cornerback.

On Monday, the trade winds whipped up a new name: Darius Slay. The Lions Pro-Bowl cornerback was reportedly incensed Detroit traded away starting safety Quandre Diggs last week and made it known publicly that maybe he wants out, too.

Slay, a second-round pick in 2013, shocked the NFL world when he tweeted out inflammatory comments about the Lions. He has since backtracked a bit on those remarks.

“It basically say it don’t matter who you is,” said Slay, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “No matter how much you put in, at the end of the day it’s a business so that’s how I just look at it. Nobody’s safe, in my opinion.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was quick to chime in that a few NFL teams have reached out to Detroit about acquiring Slay. While he doesn’t name any specific franchises, the linked-in reporter casually speculated that the Eagles make sense.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen further fueled trade speculation Monday on SportsCenter when he mentioned the Eagles were “taking a shot” on Slay.

“They’re taking a shot at Darius Slay of the Lions, but the price tag on Slay is very, very high,” Mortensen said.

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Slay Fills Immediate Need for Eagles at Cornerback

There is no denying the fact that Darius Slay would upgrade an Eagles’ secondary ranked 20th in the NFL versus the pass. The beleaguered unit has given up 2,049 yards through the air, or 256.1 yards per game.

While the coaching staff keeps pointing to the return of injured players Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc as reasons for hope, it’s evident they need a stabilizing force in the cornerbacks room. Slay would provide that.

In seven NFL seasons, the 28-year-old has racked up 18 interceptions and 94 passes defensed, plus 317 total tackles. Slay led the league in both picks (eight) and passes defensed (26) in 2017 en route to his first of back-to-back Pro Bowl selections. Nicknamed “Big Play” for his uncanny ability to show up in the biggest moments, he has been the definition of an elite cornerback over the past three years.

According to data from NFL Inside Edge, Slay had allowed just 10 completions on 38 targets from Week 13 of 2018 through Week 3 of 2019. Pro Football Focus recently included him on their list of the NFL’s “Most Underappreciated Players” and cited his 90.5 coverage grade over the past four seasons.

He Usually Backs Up His Healthy Trash Talk

The Eagles got a close-up look at Darius Slay in Week 3 when they hosted the Lions at Lincoln Financial Field. The star cornerback left the game midway through the third quarter with a hamstring injury after reaching up to intercept an overthrown pass from Carson Wentz.

While Slay didn’t record the pick, he clearly made an impression on the Eagles’ front office. Wentz exploited the Lions’ patchwork secondary with Slay out and nearly brought the Eagles back from a hefty deficit keyed by two late touchdowns, including a 20-yard romp from Nelson Agholor.

But Slay does come with some baggage. Aside from his advanced age — he’ll turn 29 in January — the veteran has been jockeying for a new contract in Detroit. He briefly held out of the team’s voluntary minicamp after he asked the team to rework his contract. They didn’t budge.

Slay has two years left on the four-year contract extension he signed in 2016. According to SpoTrac, he is scheduled to make a base salary of $12.55 million this season and $10 million next year. On the flip side, the Eagles have around $22 million in cap space for 2019. They could make it work.

How much would the Eagles be willing to offer the Lions? Well, head coach Matt Patricia has already hinted that Slay isn’t for sale — although he was surprisingly inactive for the Lions-Giants game this past weekend due to the lingering hamstring injury he suffered in Philadelphia.

If GM Howie Roseman were serious about making a move for the shutdown corner, he would likely have to consider parting with a first-round pick. Or at least a second-rounder coupled with a young player, maybe a combination of Sidney Jones and Nelson Agholor. Either way, the Eagles need to be buyers at the deadline for a cornerback and spinning on the tires on Slay is a no-brainer.

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