Slay unleashes on Patricia: 'It was hard for me to play for him'

Darius Slay revealed his disdain for Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia on Thursday after being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"We disagreed on a lot of things," the cornerback told "The Mitch Albom Show" on 760 WJR.

"He told me I wasn't elite," Slay said. "He told me I had no business working out with Richard Sherman and (Aqib) Talib because I wasn't elite. Those were the guys that were elite category and I was just good."

Slay added: "I didn't get the thought - sitting here, telling me not to go work with somebody, I'm not elite. If I ain't elite in your eyes, at least I'm trying to go compete with guys and work with guys, pick their brains, and become elite."

The veteran had angled for a trade before being sent to the Eagles, who agreed to give him a three-year, $50-million contract extension upon his arrival.

The Pro Bowl defender was once thought to be a cornerstone for the Lions, but he apparently knew early in Patricia's tenure that the two couldn't coexist for long.

"Our first year was rough," Slay said. "Second year was no problem, but our first year, it really destroyed our whole, kind of like (relationship)."

By the time Detroit traded safety Quandre Diggs - one of his best friends on the team - in October 2019, Slay knew his relationship with Patricia was unsalvageable.

"At that time, I didn't care really," Slay said of the period following the Diggs trade. "Shoot, I ain't have that much for respect for Matty P as a person. It was hard for me to play for him. That's all that was."

Patricia was hired by the Lions before the 2018 season and has gone 9-22-1 since taking the job. His first season was filled with whispers that he was struggling to get veterans to buy into his program.

Copyright (C) 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.