When Darius Slay left the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, it called his immediate future into disarray.
On one hand, the Eagles were able to hold up well without Slay, with Isaiah Rodgers turning a defensed pass into an interception to CJ Gardner-Johnson. But when you consider that Slay is a defensive leader and an effective cornerback even a decade into his career, going a game or more without his services is easier said than done.
Fortunately, Nick Sirianni feels pretty good about giving Rodgers the nod if he has to in Week 9, as he told reporters he's a huge fan of what the former Colts corner has put together in Philadelphia.
“We’ll see on [CB Darius] Slay. We’ve got a lot of time before we play the next game. He’s a heck of a player. Played a good game yesterday. We’ll hope he’s back. To answer your question, I was able to spend 2020 with Isaiah and saw how special of a player he was when we were in Indy together. His speed, his quickness, his knack for the football, and his work ethic of how he is constantly trying to work to get better,” Sirianni told reporters.
“Since he stepped foot in this building and we been on the practice field with him, all we’ve seen him do is make plays and do things that – we’re glad we have him. Again, he gets to go against [WR] A.J. [Brown] and DeVonta so often. That helps him get better. But he has a unique skillset as far as his speed, his quickness, and then combine that with the way he works each and every day at practice to get better. That’s why we have faith in him. And I mean, he’s got great toughness. Being able to come back and play after the broken hand, and take another shot to the broken hand couple week ago, and still come back and continue. He’s got great perseverance, great toughness, and he’s done that through his NFL career, on and off the field.”
While only time will tell which cornerback would get the nod if Slay can't go, be it Rodgers or Kelee Ringo, Sirianni wasn't going to just celebrate one of his young DBs, as he has some pretty incredible praise for Philadelphia's rookie corners after eight weeks of action.
Nick Sirianni is impressed by the Eagles' rookie cornerbacks, too
Turning his attention to the Eagles' rookie cornerbacks, Cooper DeJean and Quiyon Mitchell, Sirianni gave them credit, too, as they are playing like grizzled vets despite having less than 1,000 professional snaps on their respective resumes.
“Again, when you draft guys, you have high expectations for every guy that you draft. But things kind of play out as camp continues on. I think these guys have given us confidence in them since the day they got here. I know [DB Cooper DeJean] Coop had a setback with his injury, but as he was able to go, they’ve given us confidence in them,” Sirianni told reporters.
“So I think that it’s not a surprise to us because we see it every day at practice, who these guys are. So excited about where they are. Excited about where they’re going. They’ve got to keep working every day. We know we’re only as good as our next game, which is the next one coming up against Jacksonville. But excited about their skill set and who they are. I think these guys are ultra-competitive. The moment is not too big for them. They were going against one of the best wide receivers in the NFL yesterday, and they didn’t blink. Got a lot of respect for who they are and how they work.”
After spending years, no, decades, without a pair of elite young cornerbacks on their roster, the Eagles suddenly have two of them who are rookies. Factor in players like Rodgers and Ringo, who could be competing for Slay's spot when he's no longer a member of the Eagles, and the future is looking darn bright in South Philadelphia in the defensive backfield.
