Could Sydney Brown's Spot Be The Slot?

TAMPA, Fla. – This is where a slot cornerback coach comes in handy and, in the case of the Philadelphia Eagles' Ronell Williams, really must start earning his keep, now.

Rookie Sydney Brown and Williams spent the 10 days between the Eagles' Week 2 over the Minnesota Vikings win and the Week 3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a crash course of playing the slot.

With Avonte Maddox (torn pec) and Zech McPhearson (Achilles), both lost for the season with injuries, the Eagles need someone to step up.

That someone appears to be Brown.

“He took a lot of time with me, I had a lot of one-on-one meetings with him, and he really dove into it and committed to helping me learn the position throughout the week,” said Brown about Williams after the Eagles finished off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 25-11, to move to 3-0 on Monday night.

“Obviously still a lot of work to do, but in such a short period he did a great job filling me in and making sure I was ready.”

Brown made an appearance early and made a key play midway through the second quarter with the Eagles nursing a 3-0 lead. On a third-and-nine throw from Philly’s 15, Baker Mayfield looked to have Mike Evans open in the end zone. It would have given Tampa a 7-3 lead and plenty of momentum.

Instead, Brown made up ground quickly and was able to get a hand in Evan’s midsection as he tried to secure the ball. Instead, it fell to the ground and the Bucs had to settle for a field goal.

Brown, who had played mostly on special teams in the first two games, played just 12 defensive snaps but would have played more had he not suffered a lower hamstring injury.

“It’s not a big thing,” he said. “I can go in there and do everything I can, but I didn’t want to hurt the team. The team’s bigger than my injury. I feel good, but it could turn a one-week injury into a four-week injury. In the scheme of things, it sucks now but in the long run, it’s going to be good.”