Bob Quinn: Never close to trading Darius Slay, no regrets on dealing Quandre Diggs

Allen Park — At the trade deadline, ESPN reported the Detroit Lions' asking price for cornerback Darius Slay was "very, very high." Speaking for the first time since he traded away one starting defensive back but held on to another, general manager Bob Quinn said he didn't have any serious talks about dealing the team's Pro Bowl corner. 

"Not very serious at all," Quinn said.

From the outside looking in, the Lions and Slay's working relationship appears to remain tenuous. After staying away from the team during the offseason program, forfeiting a workout bonus and accruing a fine for missing mandatory minicamp, the corner wasn't able to secure the contract extension from the club he was seeking. 

Slay has left the door open to following a similar path this offseason, as he enters the final year of his current deal. Quinn was asked how he viewed his options with the soon-to-be 29 year old, but declined to offer any insight. 

"I'm not going to get up and talk about anyone’s contract status — never have, never will," Quinn said. "It’s conversations we have internally with the player and their representatives. So we’ll leave it at that."

The primary reason Slay was even viewed as available at the trade deadline was because he publicly expressed his frustrations with the Lions dealing teammate Quandre Diggs in the middle of this season. 

Quinn, who pulled the trigger on the Diggs deal that netted the Lions a modest return of a fifth-round draft pick from the Seattle Seahawks, also explained his thinking with the move. 

"I thought it was the best thing for the football team at the time," Quinn said. "Going back, it was something we felt good with Will Harris stepping in there and playing. Unfortunately, the week after that Tracy (Walker) got hurt. So it was kind of a tough week or two when you make that trade, and then a guy that you’re really counting on to take that leadership role gets hurt and he misses a couple of weeks."

Walker went on to miss three of the next four games, while Harris played 100 percent of the defensive snaps in each of those contests. Those were the only games he didn't leave the field during his rookie season.

Still, Quinn emphatically stated he has no regrets about dealing Diggs. 

Harris, meanwhile, struggled as a rookie. The third-round pick tallied 43 tackles and three pass defenses, while ranking 67th of 74 qualifying safeties, according to Pro Football Focus.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers