Philadelphia left tackle Lane Johnson and wide receiver DeVonta Smith “are working hard to get back,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on Wednesday about having two of his top players in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay doesn’t think Smith should be in the protocol – not because the former Alabama All-American doesn’t have a concussion, but because the hit during Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints that put Smith there “was not called for.”
“I know they’ll be somebody getting some healthy, healthy fines coming in their locker room, so they better be prepared,” Slay said during his “Big Play Slay” podcast on Wednesday. “Good thing they have a job that pays very well. Get ready to donate that to the NFL Foundation because they got one for you, and they fixing to get that out of your pocket. I don’t want like nobody taking their money, but doing stuff like that, money need to be took.”
With Smith being ridden down by New Orleans defensive back Paulson Adebo and Kendal Vickers after a 5-yard reception, 320-pound Khristian Boyd blasted Smith in the back and head. Smith’s helmet flew off, and the hit left him stretched on the turf with 13:45 remaining in the game. After being tended to on the field, Smith walked to the sideline medical tent, then to the locker room. He did not return to the game.
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“Smitty don’t even weigh 130 pounds,” Slay said. “One dude was already driving him back. A second dude came in to cap it off. Then another third dude came and grabbed him. His momentum is going backwards, so why the referee didn’t blow the whistle? Then the fourth guy came out of nowhere and just smacked my dog.”
On his Instagram story this week, Boyd wrote: “I would never deliberately try to give someone a serious injury. Just tried to make a play on the ball. Get well, 6.”
Slay said Boyd should have known better than to hit Smith in that situation.
“We know what we signed up for,” Slay said. “This is a very physical sport, physical contact, and we got to protect each other at the end of the day. …
“At the end of the day, we’re all representatives of the shield. That was a bad example of that. I know the guy probably had no crazy intentions. I’m not going to say he did or say he didn’t. But he knew that play was over with. And it’s the ref’s fault, too, a little bit. He could have blew the whistle and called the play dead. But he didn’t. He let a man drive him back 10 more yards and get smacked. Now my boy’s in for sure concussion protocol right now.”
Slay left the game with 5:00 to play after being pushed well off the field by New Orleans right tackle Trevor Penning on a 5-yard run by Saints running back Alvin Kamara.
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Boyd’s hit on Smith did not draw a penalty, but Penning’s prolonged blocking of Slay cost the Saints 15 yards as an unnecessary-roughness penalty.
“I understand you got a job to do,” Slay said. “You got to block for your teammate. But know when it’s over with. I was already out the play. Kamara already done ran past me. And, boom, you just keep driving. I’m telling the guy to chill out, and you see the results. I had to get a (expletive) MRI this morning. My season could have been done. But, thankfully, the Lord blessed me enough. Everything came back positive. Everything came back good. …
“I know my hit was kind of bad, but it was even worse for the Smitty one. Hey, NFL, y’all got to look into that. Y’all need to look into that deep.”
After defeating New Orleans 15-12, the Eagles play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at noon CDT Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.