Detroit Lions: Five reasons why Darius Slay’s frustration was justified

Reason #5: Disrespect from Matt Patricia

This next reason is probably the most important out of the rest of these, and again, it comes down to respect.

After Darius Slay was shipped to Philly, reports immediately started surfacing of apparent disrespect from Matt Patricia over the past two seasons towards Slay.

One report said that apparently, Patricia had told Slay that he had no business working out with players like Aqib Talib and Richard Sherman because he was “only good, not elite.”

The breaking point for Darius Slay was reportedly in a team meeting. He shared the story during an interview on the ESPN show First Take recently.

Patricia was showing plays of the cornerback getting beat in practice – which was fine. That wasn’t the problem for Slay as he’s always trying to get better as a player.

What made him mad was the fact that Patricia then proceeded to show a picture from Slay’s Instagram with another NFL wide receiver. The head coach then said out loud to the whole team that Slay “needs to stop sucking this man’s privates.”

It was at that moment, the cornerback knew he had to leave.

As assumed, Slay wasn’t happy. He felt disrespected and took offense to the comments from Patricia.

You don’t say those types of things to people, especially to a person who you don’t have a close relationship with.

Patricia’s alleged actions towards Slay over the past two seasons made the Pro Bowl corner feel as if he wasn’t valued by his own coach. The guy that’s supposed to have his back seemed to not have any respect for him at all.

Eventually, Slay realized that enough was enough.

Although Slay may have wanted to stay in Detroit, the presence of Patricia might have made a separation unavoidable. It was likely only a matter of time before things escalated to the point where it would be a team distraction.

Despite all of the inner-team controversy with Patricia, Slay posted on his twitter that his love for the city, fans, and team is still there. He may be gone, but he’s still gracious for his time in the Motor City. And that’s good to see.

Maybe Darius Slay and Matt Patricia could’ve eventually worked out there differences, but hindsight is 20-20.If there was any time to part ways, this was the time to do it.