Sidney Jones has most to lose after Eagles acquire Darius Slay

Is anyone else feeling like this Eagles and Darius Slay acquisition spells imminent doom for Sidney Jones? He hasn’t walked the plank yet, but the shipmates are talking.

If you’re like the rest of us, whether that’s a member of the media or a fan, you’ve probably had to fact check yourself from time to time when it comes to football-related topics. Yes, Google and YouTube can take the credit for pulling us all out of the fire on more than one occasion, but if you love the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s pretty easy to determine that, even though both were second-round selections who at some point of the draft process earned first-round grades, Sidney Jones is no Darius Slay at this point of his career.

Now, we can all blame the torn Achilles and some subpar coaching for that, but the facts remain. YouTube won’t help you find a ton of Sidney Jones highlight reels unless you’re looking for the work he did with the Washington Huskies. Why? It’s simple.

There aren’t any real highlights to speak of at the professional level.

2017 was a glorified redshirt year for Jones though he was activated to the 53-man roster for the season finale versus the Dallas Cowboys. Then, he returned to an inactive status for the postseason run. Meanwhile, Darius Slay was enjoying a Pro Bowl season with the Detroit Lions. He also led the league in interceptions that season, tying the Tennesse Titans Kevin Byard with eight.

Year two yielded nothing for Jones other than a hamstring injury and some embarrassing tape, particularly in Arlington versus Amari Cooper and the Cowboys, and just like that, we were approaching Year 3 of the Sidney Jones era.

Jones’ third season in the NFL brought another hamstring issue and minimal excitement outside of his first career interception in Week 2 versus Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. That is until we reached the latter part of the season where we finally saw flashes of the Sidney Jones Eagles fans hoped they would have gotten early in 2018.

Jones broke up an important pass in Week 14 versus the rival New York Giants that helped spark a late-game rally in a must-win game. He continued to impress, first with a nice late-game breakup versus the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16 and then with a game-clinching pick over those same Giants in Week 17.

The question is has he turned the corner or is this a too-little, too-late scenario?

Believe it or not, we’ve reached the fourth year of the Sidney Jones era in Philly, but with the addition of Darius Slay, the possibility that Philly will add another corner or two in the draft, and with the young guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc in the fold, will the Eagles celebrate 16 games of breakout performances by Jones or will this be another disappointing campaign by ’22’?

If you’re Jones, you’d hope it’s the latter. Much rides on 2020. He may not be playing anywhere in 2021 if he doesn’t impress. He has the most to lose in the Eagles cornerback room after the addition of Darius Slay.