Darius Slay will miss Monday night’s matchup against the Seahawks, and could be out until the playoff after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday.
Slay has been playing injured, and the cornerback previously missed the Eagles’ Week 6 loss to the Jets with a knee injury but has been a bright spot in an otherwise troubled secondary.
Philadelphia has already been underperforming in the secondary, but should have Slay back before seasons end.
With the news starting to trickle out, here’s an instant analysis of the situation.
options to replace Slay
Philadelphia is unlikely to go outside the organization for personnel, and will likely choose between Josh Jobe, Kelee Ringo, and Eli Ricks.
Even if Sean Desai moves Bradley Roby to the outside cornerback position, there could still be issues in the slot when Seattle goes to the three wide receiver looks.
How Desai defends D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will play a major role in the Eagles chances of winning.
Injury issues continue to grow
Eagles right guard Cam Jurgens was sidelined for Friday’s practice with a pectoral injury, marking the second practice he’s missed in as many days.
Jurgens suffered the injury in the Eagles’ 33-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and was replaced briefly by rookie guard Tyler Steen.
Slay and linebacker Zach Cunningham missed their a second practice in a row on Friday, as both players are dealing with knee injuries.
Cam Jurgens and Zach Cunningham aren’t practicing. Not a good sign for their Monday status.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 16, 2023
Safety Reed Blankenship was a full participant in Friday’s session, putting him on track to come out of concussion protocol in time for Monday’s game barring any setbacks.
Rough ending to an already bad week
During the latest episode of his “Big Play Slay” podcast, the All-Pro cornerbacked called out the one fan who stood outside of the team’s practice facility on Monday following the Birds’ 33-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys holding a “Fire Sean Desai” sign next to a pair of trash cans with “No Play Slay” and “Bradberry” written on them.
“C’mon now. Yall know I’m a big time troll, I love to have fun,” Slay said on his podcast. “I don’t take it personally at all. I think it was a good joke. But I had a very very solid game.. Out of all days to put the trash can out there, when I had damn near a perfect game, of course I coulda made more plays. But overall, the game was great by me, but as a team, we ain’t played worth a s**t.”
The veteran cornerback had been the one bright spot in the secondary, posting 57 tackles, 15 passes defended, and two interceptions through 14 games this season.
Eagles response
When asked how the team will deal with his absence, head coach Sirianni stated that the Eagles have “the right guys in place.” He also noted he knew about Slay’s procedure early enough in the week that the team was able to prepare in the secondary.
Slay is allowing opposing receivers to catch 61.3% of their targets when he’s in coverage, and the Birds will look to survive and maintain their standing with back-to-back home games against the Giants and Cardinals, and then a season-finale at MetLife Stadium againt the Giants.
