Wednesday night the Raiders were reportedly looking into making a trade to acquire Lions cornerback Darius Slay. Despite Slay making it clear he was interested in the Raiders as well, the Eagles quickly emerged as the favorite to land him. And by morning he was joining the Eagles. Why?
Well, the price tag was more than the Raiders were willing to pay. Apparently, both in what it cost in draft picks to get him and what Slay was demanding in terms of a contract.
The draft compensation seems like an odd line to draw. The Lions received a third (No. 85) and fifth (No. 166) round pick for Slay. The Raiders must have been willing to part with a third-round pick only. They have three of them (80, 81, 91), two of which are higher than the pick the Eagles gave up.
The contract, on the other hand. Oof. Slay’s deal with the Eagles makes him the highest-paid cornerback in the league at $16.7 million according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus. Just days after Byron Jones had become the league’s highest-paid cornerback at $16.5 million per season.
The Raiders pushed hard for Jones from the moment the free-agent negotiating period opened. They offered to give him a similar deal to the one he accepted from the Dolphins in terms of average per season, but Jones liked the $40 million in the first two seasons Miami was offering, so he took it.
Jones was always the Raiders’ top choice, so they just weren’t willing to pay more for their backup plan while also giving up draft picks. Can’t really blame them for that.
The Raiders also went after former Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr, but Harris liked the Chargers defense better and signed there instead. So instead, the Raiders signed former Saints cornerback Eli Apple. He can start, but clearly, the Raiders would prefer a better option.
