Bradley Roby ready to make a difference: ‘I didn’t come here just to get hurt’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As soon as he got hurt, Bradley Roby made up his mind that the injury wasn’t very serious.
He’s not a doctor. He didn’t really know. He hadn’t even gotten his MRI yet.
But he knew he’d be back this year. No matter what anybody else said.
“In my mind, I just didn’t accept it,” Roby said Thursday. “In my mind, it was like, ‘I didn’t come here just to get hurt in two games.’ I just felt like my destiny was more than that.
“I felt like it was a great situation that I’m in. I didn’t think that it was supposed to just be over like that. So I immediately was like, ‘No, it’s not over. I don’t care what they say. I don’t care what the MRI says. This is not over.’”
He was right.
Roby suffered a pectoral injury in the second half of the Eagles-Jets game – just 11 days after signing with the Eagles.
It’s an injury that’s often season-ending. But Roby returned to practice on Thursday and was a full participant. He’ll play Monday night against the Chiefs and the Eagles are hopeful he’ll help calm down their recent chaos in the slot.
“It’s been tough, man,” Roby said. “I’m anxious and excited just to get back out there because I felt like right when I was getting in a flow, I get injured.
“But it’s football and I took that time to just kind of sit back and really look at it in a different perspective. When I first got here, everything was moving kind of fast. I didn’t really have time to kind of settle in, but I was able to settle in (during the layoff) and really get closer with the team, understand the defense more and just get more prepared. So it’s actually a blessing in disguise.”
Roby, 31, was the Broncos’ 1st-round pick back in 2014 – five picks after the Eagles took Marcus Smith.
The Eagles signed him to the practice squad on Oct. 4, elevated him for the Rams game and then signed him to the 53 for the Jets game.
He never went on IR with this injury because the Eagles believed he wouldn’t miss four games.
He missed three.
Since the start of training camp, the Eagles have used 11 different defensive backs in the slot at some point or other: Zech McPhearson, Avonte Maddox, Mario Goodrich, Josiah Scott, Sydney Brown, Josiah Scott, Mekhi Garner, Eli Ricks, James Bradberry, Darius Slay and Roby. Technically, Reed Blankenship, Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds have lined up in the slot as well.
If all goes well, Roby will solidify a position in flux and help one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses regain its footing.
“I just think he’s got a lot of experience, and he’s sticky in coverage, and he’s smart,” Nick Sirianni said. “He’s tough. If he’s available, which we’ll see, that will be helpful for our football team. We’ll see how that all plays out, but we’ve got a lot of confidence in Bradley.”
Roby hasn’t played since Oct. 15 at the Meadowlands, so he’s had a month to learn a new defense on his fourth team in the last six years.
He made sure to use the time off productively.
“I’d really just kind of just focus on the team,” he said. “I watched practice, rewatch practice to see where everybody made mistakes, I watched the opponents that we were playing coming up, kind of keeping my mind still thinking about the game so when I watched the game on the sideline I was able to really see what they were doing. Just staying locked in. I just want to stay into the flow.
“It just helped me get a little bit more comfortable with the scheme. When I first came in, everything was moving fast. And I was able to, over the past few weeks, just really get things to slow down and really get to understand the guys and the coaches and the scheme and everything.”
Assuming the Eagles start Bradberry and Slay at outside corner, with Kevin Byard and Blankenship at safety and Roby in the slot, it will be the Eagles’ ninth starting secondary in 10 games. Whenever Roby does start a game, he’ll become the Eagles’ 11th starting defensive back.
Only the Panthers, with 13, have used more starting d-backs this year. It’s already the 3rd-most in Eagles history.
The Eagles go into Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes and the 7-2 Chiefs ranked 28th in pass defense, 28th in opposing passer rating, 29th in interceptions, 30th in TD passes allowed and last in passing first downs allowed.
They know they have to be better.
“It may take some time,” Roby said. “We’ll have to learn on the job. We’re all experienced veterans, so we’ll be able to kind of adapt fast.
“I think that’s the biggest thing about playing in the league, you’ve got to learn how to adapt as a game goes on. So I think we’ll do a good job, and we’ve got guys that communicate well, so I think it will be pretty good.”
