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Eagles Trade for Lions Cornerback Darius Slay

Kevin Kinkead

By Kevin Kinkead

Published:

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

They got him.

A third and a fifth for Darius Slay:

Schefter went on to give these details:

The deal after the deal: the Eagles and new CB Darius Slay reached agreement on a 3-year, $50 million extension that includes $30 million guaranteed, @RosenhausSports tells ESPN.

The Eagles had two picks each in the third and fifth rounds, so we’ll see which ones they moved. They had #85 overall, which was a natural pick, and then a comp pick at #103. In the fifth round, they owned 166 and 168, so not much difference at all there.

But they started with 10 picks total, and only moving a pair of those for a 29 year old who went to the Pro Bowl in 2017, 2018, and 2019 is pretty good business I’d say. Slay earned $12.5 million in 2019 and was set to earn $10 million this year, so we’ll see how the three-year deal breaks down once more details come out, but it averages out to $16.6 million per. Slay just turned 29 in January, so this contract would take him right up to his 32nd birthday.

You’re probably reading some stuff out there about Slay having a down year in 2019, which I don’t think is totally accurate. He’s a #1 corner, so he was covering guys like Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, Stefon Diggs, and Adam Thielen in the NFC North.

What about NFC East receivers?

There’s this:

If I trace the source of the criticism accurately, I think it’s coming from Pro Football Focus, which ranked him pretty low last year. That grading was met with equal criticism from players like the Honey Badger:

And teammate Jamal Agnew:

“Zero help” is key here, since Eagle corners often work on an island. They’ve always needed help from the pass rush, which is where Howie and Jim Schwartz start building their defenses.

Bottom line however, Slay is a legit #1 corner, and if his last three years have been better than anything Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, or Sidney Jones have put together. On paper, he might be the best cover corner to play here since… Asante Samuel maybe? Possibly.

Welcome aboard.

Kevin Kinkead
Kevin Kinkead

Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com

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