Former interceptions leader cornerback Darius Slay is open to a Lions return this offseason. According to a Bleacher Report, Slay was on Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s podcast and said he’s open to coming home to Detroit. This comes after speculating that no matter what the Super Bowl outcome would be, the cornerback would call it a career. However, it doesn’t seem that is the case anymore since he’s open to ending his career with the Lions.
While the Eagles will never trade Slay to the rival Lions since he’s still under a contract, it’ll be interesting to see how Philadelphia plays this thing out. It may be safe for the team to grant his release if that Slay wants but at the same he’s open for the Eagles. Slay leaves it up to the organization and it might be smarter to let him walk to test the free agent market. However, they could use him as a trade since the Eagles already have two promising second-year secondary pieces in Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.
It came a long way for the Eagles’ secondary after going through several injury woes in that unit. Slay is no stranger to Detroit and they’re in the best business to possibly punch their ticket to a Super Bowl trip despite their embarrassing NFC Divisional Round loss against the Washington Commanders. Whatever happens, the Eagles could release Slay next month and let him choose a team he desires and Lions are on top of that list. However, two teams like the Ravens, Chargers could change his mind since he will likely have several contenders interested in him.
Former NFL Interceptions Co-Leader Darius Slay Open to Lions Return – Ravens, Chargers Could Emerge as Potential Suitors
Fixing the Pass Secondary
The Baltimore Ravens had one of the worst secondaries anyone has seen this past 2024 campaign. Even though it was brought to life at the end of the season, it wasn’t enough to bring in a Super Bowl for the franchise for almost over a decade. Brandon Stephens is an impending free agent and he had a disastrous year so no one should expect him to be back. With that, the only capable cornerback right now is Marlon Humphrey but he’s a cap casualty so the Ravens could release him to save space.
Nate Wiggins has a future bright spot but he isn’t quite ready for full-time duties yet. Perhaps, Darius Slay could have something left in the tank to become their new starter in Baltimore. He isn’t going to make an impact every game but he should be a useful asset next postseason.
Jim Harbaugh’s Defensive Arsenal
For head coach Jim Harbaugh, he loves to win a football game with a strong physical defense. Khalil Mack will probably exit and Joey Bosa is a cut candidate, so the Chargers may have to strap the boots and rebuild their defense either way. The same for the secondary since Kristian Fulton and Derwin James are impending free agents. Luckily, the Chargers have money to burn so they could bring back at least one of them.
James’ future is in a spiral and Fulton has a backtrack list of injuries. The Chargers might be better off getting a one-year veteran like Slay to push their postseason chances. Quarterback Justin Herbert isn’t getting any younger so they need a capable pass defense to turn the ball over in crucial moments to put him in the best field position.
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