PFF: The Cincinnati Bengals Should Trade for Darius Slay
Detriot Lions star cornerback Darius Slay is on the trade block. Here, we detail the pros and cons of the Cincinnati Bengals making a deal for Slay.
Pro Football Focus‘ Eric Eager believes the Cincinnati Bengals should trade for Detriot Lions cornerback Darius Slay.
Who should trade for Darius Slay?@PFF_Eric: Bengals@PFF_George: Eagles pic.twitter.com/WP83NwNgW4
— PFF (@PFF) February 23, 2020
The relationship between the Lions and the star corner has grown strained as of recently, and it looks more likely than ever that Slay will find himself dawning a new uniform before next season rolls around.
Over the course of his career, the Georgia native has racked up over 300 tackles, 104 passes defended, and 19 interceptions. To go along with that impressive stat line, he’s earned three Pro Bowl appearances and found himself on the NFL top-100 players list each of the past two years. Simply put, Slay is a very good player.
However, as with any trade, there are pros and cons to the deal suggested above. First of all, it has the Bengals coughing up their third-round selection, which happens to be the first pick in the round this year. That’s no small asset.
On the other hand, there’s a good chance that Slay is better than any player the Bengals could draft with the 65th pick. There’s no rookie learning curve either, the 29-year-old corner would come in and immediately make the secondary better.
Unfortunately, Slay is in the final year of his contract, and he comes along with a cap hit of over $13 million. The Bengals have the cap space to absorb such a contract, but with needs at other positions, it’s a lot of money to take on. In addition, by giving up the draft pick, they’re taking a gamble on Slay leaving in free agency next off-season and forfeiting a young, cheap player under team control for four years. That’s a lot to ask.
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On the surface, acquiring Slay seems like a no-brainer. Adding him to a secondary that already holds great players such as William Jackson III and Jessie Bates is tempting. However, there is some significant risk involved. If you were making the decisions in Cincinnati, would you pull the trigger on a trade for Darius Slay?