The Philadelphia Eagles finally made their first big splash of the week on Thursday morning, acquiring cornerback Darius Slay from the Detroit Lions for a third and fifth-round draft pick, per reports.
As a part of the deal, Slay agreed to a three-year, $50 million extension with the Eagles, ensuring they would have him under team control through the 2023 season. He was initially slated to become a free agent following the 2020 season.
Slay had made it known that he wanted out of Detroit in recent weeks. After the Lions acquired Desmond Trufant via free agency, it was all but certain that a trade was on its way.
The 29-year-old is one of the top shutdown corners in the NFL, which will bring an injection of premier talent to an Eagles’ secondary that struggled to shut down the big play last season. They allowed eight touchdown passes of 40 yards are more last season.
Even playing on a bad hamstring last year, Slay managed to put up serviceable numbers. In 14 games, he posted 46 combined tackles with two interceptions and 13 passes defended while opposing quarterbacks had just an 81.6 passer rating when throwing at him.
Those numbers are as good or better than the eight Eagles players that appeared at the cornerback position last season.
When healthy, Slay is a dynamic pass defender, averaging four interceptions and 18 passes defended per 16 games from 2014-2018. He was one of the NFL’s very best corners in 2017, leading the league with eight interceptions and 26 passes defended.
More importantly, especially for the injury-riddled Eagles, Slay is a reliable No. 1 option at his position. Over his first seven NFL seasons, he missed just nine games and started 94 of his 103 career games.