Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Darius Slay played like one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL last year. Now, he wants to get paid like one.

Slay, entering his fourth NFL season, said today that he hopes to finalize a long-term extension with the Detroit Lions this summer that will reward him for being one of the top seven cornerbacks in the league.

"I’m a top guy, that’s it," Slay said. "I ain’t no real cocky guy like that, but I’m just confident in my game and what I put on film. I’ve been very, very productive for the past two years. Every year I has got better, so I feel like this year is going to be the best year and I’m going to make that."

Asked what he meant by "top guy," Slay said he believes he ranks among the top seven cornerbacks in the NFL.

"Right now I’ll say top seven, just cause as long as (Darrelle) Revis is in the game, he’s going to be the best corner to me," Slay said. "(Richard) Sherman’s the best, 24 picks in three years, nobody ain’t do that. Pat P (Peterson) of course. I love Chris Harris’ game. The (Aqib) Talibs. The Joe Hadens. I feel like them are the real elite, elite, elite guys, so I feel like I’m an elite guy, but I feel like I got to keep working to get to their level because they’re elite."

The Lions and Slay's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, opened preliminary talks on a contract earlier this spring, and Rosenhaus has traveled to Detroit at least two times in recent weeks to meet with the team about Stephen Tulloch's roster situation and other business.

Slay said he's not sure exactly where contract talks stand, but he hopes to have a new deal in place sometime this summer.

"I don’t really know why it’s that important (to get it done this summer), but I feel like it should be done then," Slay said. "But who knows? I’m just out here playing ball, just trying to handle business."

A second-round pick out of Mississippi State in 2013, Slay has improved steadily since a rough rookie season.

He started all 16 games in 2014 and made two interceptions, and after blanketing Dez Bryant in the Lions' playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys emerged as the team's clear No. 1 cornerback last year.

"He's a great corner," said Lions receiver Andre Caldwell, who played against Slay as a member of the Denver Broncos last year. "He's out there making plays. I don't know how to put a number on it, but I went against Talib and Chris Harris all last year and those are some great corners, and he stacks right up with them. Play making. Quick feet. Fast. So I definitely say he's a top talent in this league."

Slay, who's entering the final season of a rookie contract that's scheduled to pay him $976,269 this fall, said he approached the Lions about a new contract earlier this year because, "I’d like to stay in Detroit."

"This is the team that drafted me," Slay said. "I love Detroit. I love the city, I love the fans, so that’s why I came to them and asked them for it. But I love the city, that's why I want to stay here."

Seven cornerbacks currently have contracts that average more than $11 million annually, according to Spotrac.com, and Slay's new deal - assuming it gets done - surely will be in that range.

Josh Norman signed a five-year, $75 million deal as a free agent this off-season, and Revis, Peterson and Sherman all average about $14 million per season.

Slay said he stays out of the day-to-day negotiations in order to focus on football, and Lions president Rod Wood declined to update contract talks when asked before practice.

"I just like to keep it between them because I don’t want to be distracted so I love to come to work and have fun," Slay said. "I don’t want to come to work just upside down looking at everybody sideways cause stuff ain’t getting done. So I’ll leave it between them and whenever it happens, I told (Rosenhaus) to call me whenever it happens."

Slay, 25, said he expects to emerge as "a dominant guy" this fall, and to that end he spent about five minutes catching 70 rapid-fire balls off a Jugs machine after practice.

He has just four career interceptions, but he said he'll judge his progress more by peer reviews than the number of turnovers he forces.

Already, he's started to get food feedback in that realm, with Sherman paying him a compliment both on the field and when the two were first introduced while playing "Call of Duty" remotely with Golden Tate last year.

"I want to be a traveling corner," Slay said. "I’m already getting talked about a lot, I feel like, I just want to be known as one of the top guys. Whenever somebody see (me) I want to see somebody ask for my jersey instead of me asking for theirs."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett

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