Protocols Eased Darius Slay's Mind After Initial 'We Shouldn't Play' Thoughts

A COVID-19 outbreak of positive tests in the Tennessee Titans organization is the NFL's biggest hurdle to date

PHILADELPHIA - A COVID-19 outbreak of positive tests in the Tennessee Titans organization is the NFL's biggest hurdle to date when it comes to pulling off a full 2020 season.

The virus spread has already impacted the Eagles in an ancillary way because Philadelphia's Week 5 opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, had been scheduled to face the Titans, who are up to 23 positive COVID tests [players and personnel] as of Thursday morning, in Week 4. But, the game had to be postponed, giving Mike Tomlin and Co. an unscheduled bye week and extra time to prepare for their Keystone State rivals.

Competitive equity isn't a priority in the COVID NFL world, however. Television rights fees are and the league will continue to march forward the best way possible.

Eagles star cornerback Darius Slay admitted Wednesday that he didn't think the league should have moved forward in 2020 amidst a global pandemic.

"My true opinion, I felt like we shouldn't have even had [a season] because of what was going on. It's a difficult time," Slay said when asked about the Titans' issues.

The immediacy of social media and the denseness of some that use it, had many running with that baton out of context, forcing perhaps the Eagles' most engaging player right back on Zoom to clarify his remarks after playfully jabbing at his friend, receiver Greg Ward.

“The Eagles have been doing a great job of protecting us,” said Slay. "They came up with a great game plan to have us in the building. Before then, I was thinking to myself, ‘How are they going to do this?'"

Slay's thoughts on the 2020 season moving forward were hardly new. Back in mid-July, he took to Twitter to express his concerns.

“Why isn’t the NFL listening to the recommendation from their own joint committee,” Slay wrote. “If we want to have a full season it will have to look different. @NFL make the necessary changes.”

Why isn’t the NFL listening to the recommendation from their own joint committee? If we want to have a full season it will have to look different. @NFL make the necessary changes.   #WeWantToPlay

— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) July 19, 2020

Slay further clarified on Wednesday that he, like a lot of players, just wanted to feel safe for the sake of their families.

“I had kids, so I had to make sure my kids and my wife were all right and make sure we’re OK,” he said.

Earlier Wednesday Eagles coach Doug Pederson also remained optimistic when it came to the season despite what was unfolding in Nashville.

“I can’t comment too much on other teams,” Pederson said. “I don’t know all the situations, but I do know that there are positive tests.

"Basically, the message from the league office is just to uphold the protocols in place that we’ve been asked to do. I feel comfortable with what we’ve done, what our players have done. We just took this long road trip [to Santa Clara], and everything was good.”

Pederson, of course, tested positive for the coronavirus at the start of training camp, something that ramped up his attention to the protocols being put in place and the need to stress them to his players.

So far that's been a success. Lane Johnson, Nate Gerry, and Jordan Mailata spent time on the Reserve/COVID-19 list back in the summer but no Eagles player has been placed on the list since the start of the regular season.

The uptick in positive cases around the country comes at a time when state and local governments are easing restrictions on fans attending games as well.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf scaled-back his guidelines involving large gatherings, capping the Steelers and Eagles at 7,500 people in-Stadium on game days. Pittsburgh is allowing 5,500 fans to attend this weekend's matchup with the Eagles and Philadelphia could have a similar number against Baltimore in Week 6 if the city approves the plan early next week.

"We shouldn't have had [a season]," Slay said. "But it is what it is. We go to work and get it done. If there's a way that we can play, I'm going to play."

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM and every Monday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportsMap Radio. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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