ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Darius Slay was angling for a new contract a year ago, a deal that would pay him like one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL as he was emerging on the field to be that as well.

The deal came on the eve of training camp last season, and it was a four-year contract extension worth $50.2 million that paid him like one of the top seven corners in the league. After a year playing as the Detroit Lions' clear-cut top cornerback, with the money already set, Slay knows he can’t stop growing.

Nor does he plan to.

“I got a lot to improve, man,” Slay said. “Still got a lot of meat on the bones that I can still eat off of. Just learn, man.”

Lions cornerback Darius Slay had two interceptions for the third straight season. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

To stick with Slay’s analogy, he has taken large chunks of meat and processed them into progress each season in the league. After a rookie year in which he lost his starting job to Rashean Mathis in 2013, he spent the offseason learning from Hall of Famer Rod Woodson and emulating his game after that of Mathis, a former Pro Bowler, and safety Glover Quin.

Slay returned his second season in 2014 and emerged as a bright, young corner by the end of the season, including a successful playoff game against Dez Bryant in Dallas. By the start of 2015, he was a surefire starter. After a start to the year in which he lost a lot of 50-50 challenges, he focused more on breaking up passes instead of going for big interceptions. That helped transform him into one of the better cover corners in the league and set up his big contract extension.

This season, Slay was often thrown away from during games, and he began to make bigger plays. He had a game-turning forced fumble and game-sealing interception against Philadelphia in Week 5 that started to change the path of Detroit’s season. His interception with 38 seconds left against Minnesota on Thanksgiving gave the Lions a chance to beat the Vikings in regulation on a Matt Prater field goal.

These were the type of big plays that Slay always planned to make in the NFL, and this season he found himself in place to make them more often. It was the third straight season in which he had two interceptions -- a stat he continues to want to improve because he believes that’s what separates other top corners. That’s a spot he felt he improved in 2016 and needs to get even better at in 2017.

“I was just better in a lot of aspects of the game,” Slay said. “Coming in in the big moments, just sealing games, just giving my all, just playing ball.”

He also dealt with a hamstring injury throughout the season and missed three games in two separate situations. Despite the injury, Slay was once again considered for a Pro Bowl berth, but he has yet to make an appearance in the All-Star game.

His skill, though, continues to improve, and he’s still on a path where he will more likely than not eventually become a Pro Bowl cornerback. That can only help the Lions, and with Slay 26 years old and entering his prime, Detroit needs him to be a healthy and reliable piece of its defense for the next half-decade or more.

He’s a player the Lions can build their defense around, especially if he keeps his improvement rate where it has been the past few years.

“I’m focused on everything,” Slay said. “I got time for it -- to focus on everything. It’s not the season. I got time to focus on what I need to improve on.”