Lions Should Just Let Darius Slay Play Out His Contract
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The 2020 league year opens March 18.
One of the biggest decisions looming involves how the Lions will handle cornerback Darius Slay's contract situation.
Detroit general manager Bob Quinn could decide to extend or trade Slay.
And there is a third option to consider as well: Bringing back Slay with no change at all to his current deal.
Slay has indicated that he wants to be paid at the level of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, but understands the business side of the game.
“If they give me the contract, I'll be blessed and fortunate enough for it. Like I say, I always wanted to retire as a Detroit Lion. But if it don't happen, it's cool. I'll be all right. Like I said, if I don't, somebody will be getting a great player," Slay said via the Detroit Free Press.
In 2016, Slay signed a four-year, $48.15 million contract with the Lions -- including a $14.5M signing bonus and $23.1M in guaranteed money.
In 2020, Slay will earn a base salary of $10M, with a roster bonus of $218,750 and a workout bonus of $250K. He'll carry with him a dead cap hit of $2.9M.
While there has been rumblings of the Lions contacting other teams to listen to trade offers, Detroit may not get back in return what it believes is proper value.
By letting Slay play out his contract, he will be forced to continue to produce at a high level in order to earn his next deal elsewhere.
He may threaten to hold out, and might even sit out until the beginning of the regular season.
But the Lions definitely have the upper-hand in this situation.
Yes, he is very outspoken in the locker room, and has made it known that he wasn't happy with certain roster decisions in 2019.
However, now the onus is on upper management to put aside its desire to control the message and to allow Slay to help the team win in 2020.
The best resolution for all involved -- do nothing.
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