The Lions and Steelers practiced together on Tuesday, which meant that Lions cornerback Darius Slay got a chance to match up against Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Slay’s day ended with the cornerback saying he needs to do a better job when the teams do more joint work on Wednesday. Brown got the best of Slay in a variety of settings, including three straight go routes that led to a pair of touchdowns for the Steelers wideout and a post route that led Brown to tell the Steelers sideline that he was “killing” Slay. Slay didn’t disagree with that assessment when he spoke to reporters after practice.
“Oh man, the first one I said I expected that for the crowd, that was cool,” Slay said, via the Detroit Free Press. “But three of them in a row I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m already fitting to die here.’ Like, ‘Come on, you’re going to run another deep route?’ He said, ‘I’m going deep all day Slay.’ I said, ‘No you cannot. I’m not fitting to go with you more today. Not today.’ He tried to kill me, man.”
Slay said that he’s never seen a receiver like Brown -- Slay played four snaps when the two teams met in 2013 -- and had to adjust his style to a player who is “shifty and can make big-time plays.” Slay also called Brown “the best in the business,” an opinion he shares with plenty of others who have tried to stop Brown.