Despite a need at corner and rumors swirling that the Detroit Lions are shopping Darius Slay, the Chiefs should have no part in the trade discussions.
The Kansas City Chiefs have the demand. Unfortunately, they lack the supply.
The most recent trade winds blowing around the National Football League have the Detroit Lions potentially putting Darius Slay, one of the most consistent cornerbacks in football, up for the highest bidder. Given that the Chiefs have a need to add a few corners this offseason, it makes sense that some dots might be connected.
We’re here to say that’s not the case.
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
Adam Schefter’s report from Monday night hides the very reason why the Chiefs will be spectators to any movement surrounding Slay: the dual compensation required to land him.
Last offseason, we saw this exact sort of move from Brett Veach when he landed defensive end Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks. Frank Clark was ready for a monster extension and the Chiefs front office knew they would have to pay a hefty price in salary. However, the Seahawks weren’t desperate to get rid of Clark, which meant the Chiefs had to pay for the privilege to even employ him.
For the Chiefs, the end result wasn’t just a sacrificed first round pick in 2018, but it also included a second round pick in 2019 and over $100 million of Clark Hunt’s money.
While Slay might not cost that much in either a trade bounty or contract extension, the Chiefs aren’t in any place to make such a trade or financial investment at this stage—at least not without making several other compensatory moves.
First, the team is facing serious doubts about whether or not they can pay the players they already want to. Chris Jones is looking for a long-term extension. Sammy Watkins wants to stay on the team, but both might be jettisoned this spring due to finances. The Chiefs are also ready to make Patrick Mahomes the highest-paid player in the sport. If there’s room for an expensive corner addition, it’s hard to find where the money might come from.
Even worse is the situation with draft assets. If the Lions are looking at wanting a couple high picks, the Chiefs have a total of five at their disposal, with each picking sitting at or near the end of each round. The Lions would likely be disinterested in anything the Chiefs would package for Slay unless it included future picks as well.
At some point, the Chiefs need to worry about adding rather than subtracting picks. Creating a healthy middle class of the roster with solid young players on rookie deals is the only way to uphold the team’s most expensive players. Pairing Juan Thornhill and his second round salary with Tyrann Mathieu‘s top-shelf safety deal is the name of the game. Without those picks, the Chiefs margins shrink considerably—too much in this instance.
Slay would be a great asset to add on paper. Even “elite” cornerbacks can go through down years in the NFL. Just this coming offseason, Josh Norman and Trumaine Johnson have been released and Xavier Rhodes, A.J. Bouye, and Xavien Howard might be next. Every single of one of those have been heralded among the NFL’s top corners in recent years yet each are being cut (or could be) for one reason or another.
Slay, on the other hand, has been a model of consistency for the last seven years for the Lions, and he’s turned in three straight Pro Bowl seasons. With 104 passes defended and 19 career interceptions, he’s no stranger to making key plays on the ball, but it’s his intimidating presence and instincts in the secondary that alter game plans for opposing offenses.
In short, Slay is going to want a lot of money and the Lions are going to want significant assets.
The Chiefs have paid this sort of deal before, but a team can only cash in like this so often. This is not the year for the Chiefs, no matter how nice it would be to add a talent like Slay.