Lions sign former Falcons corner Desmond Trufant to two-year, $21 million deal

The Falcons made it official today by cutting former long-time starting corner Desmond Trufant. Trufant, a former first-round pick who signed a nice $69 million deal in 2017, became more expensive than his performance warranted.

Trufant, turning 30 in September, made the Pro Bowl back in 2015. He missed 7 games in 2016 and 7 more in 2019. Trufant spent seven seasons as Atlanta’s top corner. He was almost always technically sound and was a solid performer, but the Falcons paid him like an elite corner when he was always a bit beneath that level.

Only hours after he was officially cut, Trufant found a new home with the Detroit Lions.

It is an offseason of change for 2013 draft corners. Only a few slots after Trufant was drafted, the Minnesota Vikings took Xavier Rhodes. Rhodes was cut last week. A couple of slots after Rhodes, the Lions took Darius Slay. Slay is asking for a new deal, and the Lions plan to let him find that elsewhere.

Trufant should be a solid addition to the Lions, but is almost certainly a drop off from Slay. The former Falcons corner is still young enough to perform at a high level. We wish him well in his new home and hope to see his recent interception streak continue in Detroit.