Saturday open thread: Should the Lions bring home Darius Slay or Graham Glasgow?

The NFL free agency tampering period is set to open on Monday, March 13, at noon ET, with the official opening of the free agency period scheduled to start on Wednesday, March 15, at 4 p.m. ET, at the same time the league new year begins. With those deadlines looming, some teams are looking for ways to free up salary cap space in order to have some cap relief ahead of free agency.

One of those teams is the Philadelphia Eagles, and on Friday, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that they have granted Darius Slay permission to seek a trade. Now, it’s worth noting that Slay did not formally request a trade, and some, including MMQB’s Albert Breer, believe this is just part of the Eagles and Slay working towards a new deal.

Still, the opportunity is there for a team like the Lions, who are in need of talented cornerbacks, to check in on the cost for the Pro Bowl corner.

Slay, of course, was drafted by the Lions in 2013 and played in Detroit for seven seasons before being traded to the Eagles during the 2020 offseason. Slay’s riff with then-coach Matt Patricia is well-documented, but he has always been adamant that he holds no ill will towards the Lions fans or organization.

“I’ve got a lot of love for Detroit, man,” Slay said following the trade. “I’ve got a lot of fans here. I support the fans here. I go out in the community, high school games, basketball games. I’m going to miss that. I’m going to really miss the fans here and some great guys in the locker room.”

Slay would be an instant boost to the Lions roster, but he does come with some things to keep in mind before making an offer for him. First, while Slay is playing at a Pro Bowl level (he was recognized each of the last two seasons), he just turned 32 years old, so there is a limit to his shelf life that needs to be considered. Second, he is in the final year of his contract, and in a trade, would cost the Lions a $17.5 million cap hit in 2023. Now, a trade would likely come with a new deal and lower cap hit, but at age 32, the Lions likely won’t be handing him a massive multi-year deal.

Another former Lions player that has suddenly become available is Graham Glasgow, who was reportedly set to be released. The Broncos will clear $11 million in cap space by releasing Glasgow, but the 30-year-old starting guard/center is available to sign at any time—because he is a veteran that was released, he can sign ahead of the free agency period.

Glasgow started for four seasons in Detroit—starting at center, as well as left and right guard—before leaving three seasons ago for the Denver Broncos on a four-year, $44 million deal. Glasgow still has “a lot of friends” in the Lions locker room, including Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, both of which he has played alongside during his time in Detroit.

So that brings us to our question of the day:

Should the Lions bring home Darius Slay or Graham Glasgow?

My answer: I’m sold on bringing back Glasgow, and as long as Slay’s cost to acquire is lower than what we the Eagles gave up to acquire him (Pick No. 85 in the 2020 NFL Draft), I’d be in on that too.

In order to make room for Glasgow, the team will have to make a decision on Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who is coming off a season-ending back injury and is scheduled to have a cap hit of nearly $12.5 million in 2023. If the team's plan was to draft a rookie, I would understand keeping Vaitai at that cost, but with a ready-made starting right guard available, I’d be a lot more comfortable shedding the last bad contract from former general manager Bob Quinn.

As far as Slay, the cost to acquire him and cap space are the only things keeping this from being a slam-dunk decision for me. If you are telling me the cost would be a couple Day 3 picks and he’d renegotiate a new contract—something in the three-year range that lowers his cap in 2023—then I’m on board.

Ok, your turn. Vote in the poll and sound off in the comments.