Darius Slay has injury scare during Brandon Aiyuk’s rushing touchdown

The Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t afford any further injuries, but were given quite the scare in Week 4.

No team in the NFL has been more disappointing than the Philadelphia Eagles. They made a variety of moves this offseason to contend for a playoff spot, just like the Dallas Cowboys. But both have been unimpressive thus far. Philadelphia’s woes can be attributed to the injury bug that has taken out the majority of their offense. But they were almost handed a significant blow to their defensive backfield on Sunday.

During Philadelphia’s Week 4 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles defense surrendered a huge rushing touchdown to 49ers rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Cornerback Dairus Slay tried to make a play, but wasn’t able to make a play after 49ers offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey struck him in the knee with his helmet during an attempted diving stop. Slay was tended to by team trainers while sitting on the field, before limping over to the sidelines.

Luckily, Slay’s injury wasn’t serious, as he returned to the field in the second quarter.

Losing Slay would have been damaging to Philly’s defense

This offseason, the Eagles were in desperate need of secondary help. General manager Howie Roseman monitored Slay’s status with the Detroit Lions before pulling the trigger on a trade, where they surrendered third and fifth-round selections in the 2020 NFL Draft. Immediately after the trade went through, the Eagles locked in Slay to a three-year, $50.1 million contract extension.

Slay has been Philly’s star defensive back, and a key reason why the Eagles surrendered the seventh-fewest passing yards per game in the entire league (224.3). Through Philadelphia’s first three games, Slay allowed 13 receptions on 21 targets for 118 yards and zero touchdowns.

This isn’t the only injury scare that the Eagles have had with Slay. Last week, the veteran cornerback left Philadelphia’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with an apparent arm injury. Slay headed to the locker room, but returned in the fourth quarter.

Eagles fans can breath a sigh of relief that Slay didn’t leave the game with a serious injury. But we’re sure they can do without the scare!