The Detroit Lions are reportedly shopping cornerback Darius Slay. The Cleveland Browns should inquire about acquiring the former All-Pro.
Browns GM Andrew Berry said he wants to be aggressive, this is his chance. The Detroit Lions are looking to move cornerback Darius Slay and Cleveland should be interested. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Detroit was shopping Slay.
As Schefter mentions, a new deal would be required for Slay as part of the trade. Good news for Cleveland, they just cleared a ton of cap room with some moves on Monday. The Browns have the space to accommodate a new deal for the three-time Pro Bowler.
Cleveland already has two young cornerbacks on their roster in Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams. Adding another cornerback into the mix is not a bad idea. Considering how pass-happy teams are in the modern NFL, it would benefit them to add another quality cornerback. Adding more quality players to the defensive backfield will only improve their defense and help them make it a bit more difficult for their opponent to execute their offense.
There is also a concern with Denzel Ward and his health. Ward has missed seven games in his first two seasons due to injury. Some worry must exist in the Browns front office about the long term viability of Ward in regards to ability to stay on the field. Adding Darius Slay to their secondary would help alleviate that worry.
Would the Browns actually entertain trading what it would require to acquire “Big Play Slay”? Probably not, but they should. Teams looking to improve can’t be cheap forever and as mentioned above, Andrew Berry said they were going to be aggressive this offseason. Trading for Darius Slay would be a great start towards backing up their claims when it comes to roster building this offseason.