Is Darius Slay an option for the Falcons?

My favorite corner in the NFL is on the trading block: This is not a drill.

Lions have spoken with multiple teams about a potential trade for Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay, per sources. Any team that trades for Slay would have to compensate Detroit and Slay with a new deal. Other teams believe Slay will be traded this off-season, but Lions adamant on value.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 17, 2020

 

Corners like Slay don’t come around very often, but the Brunswick native isn’t going to come cheap. Slay’s amassed 19 interceptions over his career, and he’s only 29 years old. He led the NFL in picks in 2017 with 8, earning him first-team All-Pro honors. Slay has also had a handful of “Pro Falcons” tweets over his career, is a big fan of Julio Jones, and spends a decent amount of time in his home state.

https://twitter.com/_bigplayslay23/status/1219362035651301379?s=21

 

Top 5 bra is ab,Julio,aj,Odell, Jordy, an u can put Hopkins in there to but bra is nice out there

— Darius Slay (@_bigplayslay23) September 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/_bigplayslay23/status/1132100681094041601?s=21

 

Slay’s contract is going to be the primary hurdle here. There would have to be some salary matching more than likely, as he’s owed a little over $13 million this season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. This would likely take an Austin Hooper reunion off the table for Atlanta, but patching up the secondary is the more urgent need heading into the offseason.

Slay is a perfect complement to this Atlanta roster, giving them an amazing 1-2 tandem with quality depth in Isaiah Oliver, Kendall Sheffield, and Damontae Kazee. According to PFF, he had the worst season of his career in 2019, grading out as a 56.4. But outside of that, Slay’s been one of the most consistent corners in the league, recording grades of 70+ from 2014-2018. Perhaps his down season would allow the Falcons to acquire him at a lower cost.

At the trade deadline last year, it was rumored the Lions were interested in Devonta Freeman. Now, it looks like the Falcons are planning to cut Freeman. However, if they could convince Detroit to take on the remainder of his contract in exchange for some better draft compensation, this could work out. Slay is in the last year of his deal and is looking to cash in on a new contract. I’m not sure the Falcons will be able to offer that if they can’t rid of some dead cap in the trade.