Eagles’ injury report is lengthy, but Darius Slay says he’s progressing ahead of the Dolphins game

Coming off a game against the New York Jets that saw attrition among several starters, the Eagles are headed into Sunday night’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins with a banged-up group.

The Eagles held a walk-through on Wednesday, but had they practiced, eight players would have been limited in some capacity or sidelined altogether. One of the most notable among them is right tackle Lane Johnson, who was listed as a nonparticipant on the injury report (injury designations are estimations). Johnson exited in the first quarter against the Jets with what was later determined to be a Grade 1 right ankle sprain, sources told The Inquirer.

After Johnson went out, backup Jack Driscoll assumed his role in relief. He allowed a team-high eight pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which is the most in a single game by an Eagles offensive lineman since 2020 (Jamon Brown allowed eight pressures against the Baltimore Ravens). Coach Nick Sirianni would not reveal how Johnson’s status is impacting their game-planning for the week, if at all.

“Lane is doing everything he can do to be ready to play,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, we haven’t been out on the field and running and cutting or doing anything like that. We’ll see how it progresses. I’ll let you ask him how he feels and everything like that. I would never count Lane Johnson out, that’s for sure. He’s one of the best players in the NFL and he’s tough as heck. We’ll see how it goes.”

Besides Johnson, safety Reed Blankenship (ribs), slot cornerback Bradley Roby (shoulder), and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) were also listed as nonparticipants. Both Blankenship and Roby left the Jets game, but Smith never missed a series and played 99% of the snaps (69).

Meanwhile, cornerback Darius Slay was listed as limited on Wednesday. He was ruled out against the Jets on Friday after sustaining a knee injury the week before against the Los Angeles Rams. Backup cornerbacks Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks took snaps on the outside in his place until Ricks (knee) was injured in the second quarter, then the Eagles turned to Jobe for the rest of the game.

Slay said that Ricks and Jobe did “great” and that the initial rotation helped the young cornerbacks keep their sense of confidence high. He watched from the sideline and did his best to share his insight with his teammates where he could.

“Just coaching them up and just trying to help them see it from how I see it out there on the field,” Slay said. “Try to give them pointers, help them out a little bit. Anything I could possibly do. That was really what it is. Defense playing very good, man. We’ve just got to continue to keep building off that.”

Before the walk-through, Slay said he has been progressing every day and that he’s “getting there” as far as reaching full health.

“We’ll see,” Slay said of his availability for Sunday. “It’s up in the air. So just continue to keep working and trying to improve.”

In addition to Slay, defensive tackle Jalen Carter (ankle), tight end Dallas Goedert (groin), and defensive tackle Milton Williams (ankle) were listed as limited participants. Goedert was not on the field for the last series of the Jets game, when tight end Grant Calcaterra took his place.

Cornerback Josiah Scott, whom the Eagles signed to the active roster from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad on Wednesday morning, was present for walk-through. Before his departure from the Steelers, Scott was on injured reserve with a hamstring issue. However, before the Eagles signed him to the active roster, Scott was found to be healthy.

With Roby and Blankenship dealing with injuries, Scott could have a role in the secondary on Sunday. Scott, a 2020 fourth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, was traded to the Eagles in May 2021. Over the course of two seasons with the team, he played 29 games, including 478 defensive snaps and 327 special-teams snaps.

Scott has mostly lined up in the slot with the Eagles in that span (371 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus), but he also has experience at safety, lining up primarily in the box (45 snaps). He did not make the team out of training camp this year and subsequently signed with the Steelers’ practice squad. Now, Scott said that he’s prepared to step into whatever role is needed of him this week.

“I’ve always been a guy who’s very versatile and really any team I played for, going back to my rookie year in Jacksonville, I played corner, safety, nickel, dime,” Scott said. “I’ve always been asked of that [by] any team I went to. So it’s nothing different.”

Fortunately for the Eagles, three players who had been sidelined were listed with full participation designations on Wednesday: Ricks, safety Sydney Brown (hamstring), and defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu (triceps). Brown has missed the last three games due to injury, while Tuipulotu has been out for the last two.