Detroit Lions: Give kudos to Bob Quinn, Damon Harrison and Darius Slay

I think most fans will say that Bob Quinn is the man responsible for subduing Drew Rosenhaus and getting Damon Harrison and Darius Slay into training camp on time and ready to play. Yet that answer is probably not giving enough credit to those who deserve it.

Reports were out that as recent as just over a week ago, Quinn was still negotiating with Rosenhaus. Considering that at that time there was no public idea whether ‘Snacks’ or Slay would be in camp, the credit has to start there.

Yes, Bob Quinn gets credit for standing his ground and not setting a dangerous precedent of renegotiating contracts with multiple years left on them. What he should also get credit for is convincing Rosenhaus he would deal with them in ‘good faith’.

In other words, he was able to convince Drew Rosenhaus that ‘Snacks’ and Slay would have the opportunity next offseason to renegotiate their expiring contracts. Rosenhaus must have been convinced of Quinn’s willingness to deal ‘in good faith’ at that time and relayed the message to his two clients.

Now Slay and ‘Snacks’ could have said they weren’t having any of that. And they may have even been resistant to the idea at first. But in the end, cooler heads prevailed and now they are in camp.

Which means Rosenhaus, Harrison and Slay all deserve credit for making this happen as well.

It’s easy to say that Harrison and Slay weren’t going to get new contracts and they just reported because they didn’t want to lose money in the form of fines for every day they miss of training camp. But I think that might be selling all the parties involved short.

When asked if not having a new contract would affect his play, Darius Slay said it wouldn’t and he wants to dominate opponents. That sounds like a player whose mind is where it should be; Do your job. Just what Matt Patricia preaches.

Not to mention the old adage that those who really play, get paid. Which both Slay and Harrison believe will happen next offseason.

So while the offseason contract talks brought about images of hero’s and villains battling it out for the payroll, the truth is that Bob Quinn set the stage by handling the situation with the proper combination of standing his ground, but willing make a future commitment to discussing the financial demands of Harrison and Slay in a manner that appeased Rosenhaus.

In turn, Rosenhaus, Harrison and Slay all acted like professionals and made sure they were in camp and preparing for a big season.

So while Quinn will be considered the big hero by Lions fans, give credit to Rosenhaus, Harrison and Slay as well. This is the type of resolution that can give a franchise a positive boost. It can also eventually make everyone from the Lions organization to Harrison and Slay and the fans very happy in the long run.