‘Big Play’ Slay won’t play for Eagles Monday night against Seattle

PHILADELPHIA — Already short of proven personnel for the back end of the defense, the Eagles confirmed Saturday that they will be without the services of their top cornerback, Darius Slay, for at least the Monday night game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

Big Play Slay is out indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.

The Eagles also practiced Saturday without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was sent home with an illness. Privately the Eagles don’t want to risk spreading the illness before their six-hour flight to Seattle Sunday.

Hurts and Josh Sweat, excused from work for personal reasons, both are expected to play Monday while linebacker Zach Cunningham (knee) and guard Cam Jurgens (pectoral muscle) have been ruled out.

As for the 32-year-old Slay, he hasn’t been himself this season although he missed only one game, the 20-14 loss to the New York Jets with a knee injury in Week 6.

Slay is tied with safety Reed Blankenship for the team lead with two interceptions, although that’s nothing to brag about. With six interceptions in 13 games, the Eagles are tied for the second fewest in the league this season. Head coach Nick Sirianni was tight-lipped after confirming the ESPN report about Slay having the surgical procedure.

“What’s our plan?” Sirianni said. “We’ve got the right guys in place.”

Rookies Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, and Josh Jobe would likely be the replacements by committee for Slay. Sirianni acknowledged that the Eagles knew early enough in the week that Slay wouldn’t be available, enabling them to plan accordingly with the first-team snaps. They are allowing almost 260 yards through the air, fifth-most in the league, and have allowed 29 touchdown passes, second-most on the circuit.

The Seahawks don’t have the most explosive offense in football, but wide receivers D.K. Metcalf (seven TDs) and Tyler Lockett (four) are the go-to guys for quarterback Geno Smith, who has been slowed by a groin injury. Smith has 15 scoring passes, nine interceptions and an 89.1 rating.

The Seahawks prefer a short-pass, yards-after-catch approach with Metcalf and running back Kenneth Walker than deep ball attempts. Conversely, the Eagles’ tackling has been at its worst in back-to-back blowouts at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

In place of right guard Cam Jurgens, Sirianni has a choice of veterans Sua Opeta and Jack Driscoll, or rookie Tyler Steen.

“We’ve seen Jack Driscoll come in at a critical time to play good football,” Sirianni said. “Sua has done well in critical football. We won a big game with Tyler Steen. I think we’ve won with all these guys in the lineup, got the right guys in place and feel good and confident with those guys if Cam can’t go.”

• • •

Offensive tackle Jason Peters, 41, who played 11 seasons here, ending in 2020, has been rotating in at left tackle for the Seahawks.

That doesn’t surprise his Eagles fan club, a small army that includes younger talents Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert and Driscoll.

“What a warrior,” Mailata said. “He loves football, and I knew that from the get-go. So, I’m not surprised he’s still playing. His signature move? Get off the ball. He said 50 percent of your problem is getting off the ball. His get off was the fastest get off I’ve ever seen when I came into the league.”

Peters made a lasting impression on Driscoll as well.

“My rookie year J.P. taught me a lot and helped me a lot along with all the guys here,” Driscoll said. “J.P.’s whole thing was to get off the ball and beat them with your hands and using your body to stay in front of the defender. Watching him was so valuable. That’s really impressive that he’s still doing it and playing well, it seems like, when he’s in there.”

Goedert, 28, was blown away thinking he’s played just shy of a third of the 19 seasons that Peters has played.

“It’s unreal, but every time I see him go in there it’s no surprise,” Goedert said. “The guy is a true professional and obviously is a really good football player. He’s getting towards the end of his career, but he still finds a way to make sure his body is right for game day. I’ll tell you one thing, if he gets his hands on you, you aren’t getting around him. They call him the bodyguard for a reason.”

• • •

While Geno Smith has been limited in practice with the groin issue, he’s listed as questionable, and the Eagles anticipate seeing him Monday. Just in case, though, they’ve also studied backup Drew Luck, who started the previous game.

“We’re playing like he’s back,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said of Smith. “Good pocket presence. You know, getting the ball out. You know that they like to run the ball, so they’re going to try to run the ball to take a lot off him. You know he got paid big money. They’re going to definitely use him, because they’ve got great receivers and a great running back, too. We’ve got to make sure that we get numbers to the ball on all of them.”

Also questionable for the Seahawks are defensive backs Jamal Adams (knee) and Devon Witherspoon (hip), linebacker Nick Bellore (knee) and wide receiver Dee Eskridge (ribs).