Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay is looking for a new deal, and as a result, he skipped voluntary offseason workouts and mandatoy minicamp. He showed up for training camp, but was initially placed on the non-football injury list (even though he wasn't dealing with an injury) before finally participating in practice last week.

So, when Lions head coach Matt Patricia made Slay one of just two defensive starters to play during Detroit's first preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night, some wondered if Patricia was trying to tell Slay something.

But Patricia insists that wasn't the case:

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“There was no message. None of that,” Patricia said, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “There was the entire offensive line was out there to start the game. Tracy Walker was out there. Romeo Okwara was out there. Justin Coleman was out there. Anybody that we felt could play and would be beneficial for them to get some snaps in a game, we tried to play.”

Slay ended up playing six snaps and did not have a pass thrown his way. Still, Patricia stands by his decision:

“You try to build up as you go through training camp and try to get the guys opportunities to go out there and play,” Patricia said. “And some other guys that maybe you feel, whether they've been through a lot or they’ve been practicing a lot or wherever their bodies may be, (that) if it was best for us not to play them then that’s the decision we made in those specific individual situations. But nothing other than that.”

Slay did not speak to reporters after the game.

The 28-year-old is coming off of back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances, and in 2018, he logged 43 tackles, three interceptions, 17 passes defended and a defensive touchdown. He also notched a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2017.

Slay has two years remaining on his current deal.