Slay To Play

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles were back outdoors for their final practice of the week Friday, the brief stretching and warmup period open to reporters providing further clarity on a handful of health statuses.

Cornerback Darius Slay (concussion) and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), both listed as full participants following Thursday’s practice, were spotted in the stretch line with helmets. Both are in line to play Sunday against the Panthers barring any setbacks.

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles CB Darius Slay is trending toward playing Sunday vs. Panthers barring a setback in concussion protocol.

As for the three non-participants throughout the week – tight end Dallas Goedert (knee) and safeties Reed Blankenship (concussion) and Sydney Brown (knee) – none took the field to start practice. The presumption is that all three will be ruled out.

As previously noted, given the safety shortage, keep an eye on rookie free agent safety Andre’ Sam to earn his first elevation of the season, likely serving as the fourth safety behind C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Tristin McCollum and Avonte Maddox.

McCollum will make his first NFL start.

It’ll also be interesting to see how the Eagles play the Goedert injury. Will the team opt to ride it out or place the veteran tight end on short-term injured reserve? A storyline worth monitoring.

Right now, they’re carrying just two healthy tight ends on the 53-man roster in Grant Calcaterra and C.J. Uzomah.

Elsewhere, wide receivers Britain Covey (neck) and Johnny Wilson (hamstring) were both present and accounted for in the stretch line. Stay tuned later this afternoon for the final practice report ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.