Slot of Horrors: Eagles Counting on Roby's Return After Bye

With the Los Angeles Rams and a returning Cooper Kupp looming, Roseman brought in veteran Bradley Roby.

With less than a week to prepare, Desai didn’t come in relying on Roby, instead giving Goodrich a second chance and also employing 6-foot-2 undrafted rookie Eli Ricks into the equation.

Kupp put the younger players into a blender in the first half before the Eagles broke the glass with Roby in the second half. The veteran’s football IQ, coupled with a ferocious pass rush, affected Matthew Stafford and the search was over.

Roby, a now 31-year-old 2014 first-round pick of Denver, was getting the job with the only hurdle being a ramp-up period because he skipped training camp and early-season games waiting for a contender to call.

Whether that inactivity contributed or not Roby suffered what was described as a shoulder injury at the New York Jets on Oct. 15, the Eagles’ lone loss during the first nine weeks. A team source told SI.com’s Eagles Today that Roby actually has a strained pec and hasn’t been on the field since, a span of inactivity that should conclude when the Eagles arrive in Kansas City post-bye on Nov. 20.

The Eagles finished against the Jets with another piecemeal approach with the heaviest dose being Ricks.

By Week 7 against the high-powered Miami Dolphins, another new body entered the fray when the Eagles brought back Josiah Scott, a more natural slot CB, from the Pittsburgh PS. It was Scott edging Ricks in the workload although the latter performed better. Brown, meanwhile, was finally back from his hamstring issue but had to play safety because Reed Blankenship was out with a rib injury.

Don’t feel bad if you’re head is swimming by this point although perhaps that creates some empathy for Desai and secondary coach D.K. McDonald.

The next domino was the acquisition of veteran safety Kevin Byard before the rematch with Howell and Washington in Week 8, something that along with Blankenship’s return, crystalized the plan until the bye.

Brown would play early downs in the slot to take advantage of his physicality in run support and the speedier Ricks would handle known-pass situations.

The results were Howell and Dak Prescott feasting but the Eagles finding ways to win with the thumb in the dam until Roby’s potential return.

The final desperation move was Darius Slay shadowing CeeDee Lamb in the waning moments of the win over the Cowboys.

The real hero here might be nickels coach Ronell Williams who has had to get players ready in short windows or in unfamiliar positions.

The biggest domino, meanwhile, may have fallen all the way back in the preseason when Maddox’s presumed backup Zech McPhearson went down with a torn Achilles.

Had McPhearson tagged in against the Vikings, perhaps he would have failed or gotten hurt in a different fashion down the line but the other side of that coin is serviceable play which is what Philadelphia would have projected.

That butterfly effect created ripples that brought Roby, Scott, and Byard to Philadelphia and created an opportunity for Ricks while showcasing the skills of Desai, McDonald, and Williams as well as the talented defensive line.