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Lions cornerback Darius Slay breaks up a pass on Thanksgiving last season.

(Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Ndamukong Suh wanted to play through his contract year and cash in on free agency.

Cornerback Darius Slay, one of the Detroit Lions' young defensive stars left in his wake, appears to be taking a different approach. Slay has told the Lions he wants to work out a long-term extension, according to a source. Negotiations have begun, but those talks are premature. The hope is a deal can worked out in the next couple months.

The source did not say what kind of money Slay is seeking, though considering the skyrocketing cornerback market and his flourishing skill-set, he's positioned for a significant windfall.

Slay, a second-round pick in Detroit's loaded 2013 draft, has turned into one of the team's rising stars. After struggling as a rookie, Slay became a solid corner in 2014 and a really good one in 2015.

He drew a lot of tough assignments, particularly after fellow starting corner Rashean Mathis was lost for the second half of the season due to a concussion, yet still was the league's second-best corner according to ProFootballFocus.

Slay finished with 59 tackles, 13 passes defended and two interceptions.

Now with just one year remaining on his rookie deal, Slay has two options: Bet on himself by playing through a contract year, then cashing in on free agency next offseason -- and he could really cash in if he plays well, now that corner has become a big-money position -- or try to work out a long-term deal now that would offer immediate financial security.

Once Slay fired his agent to hire Drew Rosenhaus this offseason, it became clear he wanted the latter.

Now those talks have begun, and new Lions general manager Bob Quinn will have to begin sorting out which players he wants to keep. With Ezekiel Ansah (who could be locked in for two years if Detroit picks up his rookie option), Larry Warford and Theo Riddick also turning into good players from that class, Detroit is going to have a lot of decisions to make about the future of the club.

Five members of that 2013 draft class are currently eligible to hit free agency next year: Slay, Warford, Riddick, defensive end Devin Taylor and punter Sam Martin.

"It's a case-by-case thing," Quinn said recently. "It really depends on the player and the situation. I'm not going to make any comments about, 'We're going to extend guys two or three or one year out.' Everybody's different."

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