Notebook: Why Lions Did Not Claim Slay, Former DE Dishes on Poor Culture

Collection of recent Detroit Lions news making waves.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay (23) tackles Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions did not place a waiver claim in on former cornerback Darius Slay.

After a subpar stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Slay was waived and eventually claimed by the Buffalo Bills.

Since the AFC East squad currently sits below the Lions on the waiver wire order, it signaled general manager Brad Holmes did not put in a claim at all, even though the team needs help at cornerback.

Terrion Arnold was recently placed on the injured reserve list, and the defense has been giving up far too many explosive plays the last several weeks.

Detroit's coaching staff has expressed satisfaction with Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin and Nick Whiteside.

Per PFF, Slay was ranked as the 89th best cornerback out of 96 who have recorded at least 200 coverage snaps. He allowed a passer rating of 126.7 against opposing quarterbacks.

A step slower, the Steelers defense, despite needing as much assistance as possible, was willing to move on.

Even though many wanted Holmes to bring him back, it was in the best interest of the team to pass on an aging veteran who was not making that much of a positive contribution with the Steelers.

Former defensive end dishes on bad culture

Back during the 2008 season, the Lions were the epitome of chaotic.

During that disastrous season, the Lions became the first team to go 0-16, a feat not matched for nearly another decade.

The Lions fired general manager Matt Millen in Week 4, and slugged through all 16 games without a win for third season head coach Rod Marinelli.

This came in spite of having Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson, Lions’ Ring of Honor member Jason Hanson, and a young Cliff Avril, who eventually became a Pro Bowler, on the roster.

In a recent appearance on the “Get God Pod” hosted by Marshawn Lynch and Micheal Robinson, Avril opened up to his former Seahawks teammates about his rookie season in Motown

It was not always an attitude of doom and gloom, Avril revealed. Being just in his first NFL season, he had the attitude of just avoiding making a game losing play or penalty. However, the losing continued.

By the eighth straight loss, however, things had taken a nosedive. By week 11, it reached a shocking low. A team captain, citing his future, reportedly quit on the Lions and placed himself on injured reserve.  

While it was a low point in Avril’s career, being a part of that notoriety as a rookie, it gave him a great professional lesson. Everything that the Purdue product saw during that season, he stayed far away from that. It gave the defensive end motivation, which led him to earn a Pro Bowl nod in 2016 alongside a Super Bowl ring during his time with Seattle.

Former Detroit Lions DE Cliff Avril makes shocking revealed about teammate @DetroitPodcast @E_Matasovsky57
Via: @GetGotPod pic.twitter.com/4NGLaqyUlz

— Detroit Lions On SI (@AllLionsFN) December 3, 2025

As Avril explained, “0-4, guys are still into it, like ‘Nah, we are going to turn this around, it’s only a quarter of the season in.’ We are 0-8, by 0-10, now guys are -- so, this is week 11 of the season. I’m still trying to figure things out. I just wanna play. I just don’t want to be the reason why (the Lions lost that week). That always was my motto, ‘I don’t want to be the reason why. I’m not going to be the reason we losing games.' You know what I’m saying? I knew a new coach was coming in, so I got to make sure my resume tight by making plays."

Avril continued, "But by week 11, he was our captain. I remember he walked into the D-Line room or whatever, and he was like, ‘Yeah fellas, man, I gotta start thinking about my future. I gotta start thinking about my family, I’m just going to go ahead and put myself on IR (injured reserve). Just so I can be ready for next year or whatever.' And I’m a young bull, so I am in here like, ‘Wait up, you can quit? You can quit, and they still gonna pay you? What kind of business are we in?’ So, I am watching this like, ‘Oh, this is why we losing. Y’all ready to quit.’ So for me, it was an understanding of everything not to do, for real for real. That’s what I took from that year. Everything not to do as a pro. (Expletive) everybody (who acted like the veteran) was out of the league the next year, the next two years.”

Now, the Lions identity of grit and resiliency has produced a completely new, functional culture.

Record-setting Thanksgiving viewership

The Thanksgiving Day Classic continued to draw very strong viewership. An annual tradition, the Lions playing in the early slot has produced record viewership the past couple of seasons.

According to a league press release, "The early game on FOX between the Packers and Lions averaged 47.7 million viewers, the most-watched early Thanksgiving game on record, up +27% versus last year’s Bears-Lions game (the previous record holder)."