New Orleans Saints: Is Darius Slay an option at corner?
Darius Slay is on the market, so should the New Orleans Saints, who have a need at cornerback, take a look into trading for the Lions star?
The New Orleans Saints need to use some assets to improve their secondary. Linebacker, cornerback, and wide receiver will be a few of their biggest needs in the 2020 offseason which will start to heat up at free agency’s commencement on March 18.
Eli Apple is likely gone as he’ll become a free agent in the coming month. Janoris Jenkins and Patrick Robinson both have lofty contracts in which the Saints may try to restructure. They potentially could be waived or cut as well.
A new, pricey option has hit the market. Darius Slay, the Detroit Lions star cornerback, is being shopped, but where and for what is still unknown. The amount of draft capital Detroit is looking for will take some teams out of the race.
With the Lions having the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, shopping Slay could signal the team’s first-round draft pick as star Ohio State corner Jeff Okudah is projected to still be on the board.
That said, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the news about Slay and the Lions’ intent on trading him.
Lions have spoken with multiple teams about a potential trade for Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay, per sources. Any team that trades for Slay would have to compensate Detroit and Slay with a new deal. Other teams believe Slay will be traded this off-season, but Lions adamant on value.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 17, 2020
The 29-year-old Slay will be a free agent in 2021. That means whichever team opts to unlock their assets for him may be left emptyhanded in the coming years. That will fortunately also lower Slay’s value on the market.
For the Saints, are they a true contender for the Pro Bowl-caliber corner? Probably not. Slay is set to have an eight-figure salary and then become a free agent. The Saints can’t pay him the following offseason, most likely meaning they’ll opt not to chase the talented cornerback.
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In his third straight Pro Bowl season, Slay notched 46 combined tackles and 13 passes defended in 14 starts and is just two years removed from a league-high 26 passes defended in 2017.