Detroit Lions: Please don’t take Darius Slay for granted
As the offseason saga surrounding Darius Slay and the Detroit Lions continues, here’s a reminder of what would be lost if the two sides part ways.
Remember the fumble recovery/interception combo that saved the Philadelphia Eagles game in 2016? What about the game-turning interception to snatch Thanksgiving away from the Minnesota Vikings that same year? What about the lockdown 2017 season? If nothing else, we’ll always have the end zone pick to wrap things up against the Los Angeles Chargers and put the Detroit Lions in the win column for the first time last year.
As trade talks surrounding Darius Slay heat up and estimates about his market value sink lower, it’s worth it for all sides to consider what would be lost if they end up splitting. Slay leaving Detroit doesn’t need to be a foregone conclusion, so let’s take a step back for a second.
I don’t know all the business numbers. If this is mostly a numbers game, and the Lions lose that numbers game by keeping Slay, then I guess that’s what it is. The general feeling though, is that Slay’s personality and outspokenness play into this decision just as much, in which case the Lions need to be very careful not to take Slay for granted and repeat mistakes of the past.
Perception of star treatment in Detroit
Whether warranted or not, the Lions have built up a reputation for pushing away their biggest stars well before their time should have been up in Detroit. Barry Sanders (not to be confused with Bernie Sanders. Never thought I would need to clarify that) is the classic example. More recently we have Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson.
Johnson and Suh left Detroit under different circumstances, but both came right on the heels of stretches of multiple Pro Bowl selections with the Lions. Neither felt like an earth-shattering surprise (Megatron had been playing through injuries for years, Suh’s contract renegotiation always felt like a ticking time bomb) if I’m remembering right, but the perception was that the Lions had badly blown it to lose each of them.
Ex-general manager Martin Mayhew admitted there were a lot of things he would have done differently with Suh’s situation. Asking Calvin Johnson for his signing bonus back after he retired in 2015 may have been fair play from a contractual standpoint, but it made the Lions look petty and has estranged Johnson from the franchise ever since.
The Lions don’t need their handling of Darius Slay to be yet another black eye for management, another botched dealing with one of their biggest stars. If you don’t consider Slay to be near the level of Barry, Calvin, and Suh in terms of production and star power, consider this: Since Sanders retired in 1999, the Lions have had exactly three players with three consecutive Pro Bowl selections: Calvin Johnson … Ndamukong Suh … Darius Slay.