PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles have lost a key defensive starter to injury.
Nolan Smith, the Eagles’ budding star at edge rusher, was placed on injured reserve, the franchise announced on Wednesday.
Smith re-aggravated the same triceps he had had surgery on this past offseason, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
Smith is one of three players the Eagles placed on IR on Wednesday, joining cornerback Jakorian Bennett and wide receiver Darius Cooper.
The hope is that all three players will be back around the Eagles’ Week 9 bye week, according to multiple reports.
They are slated to miss games at least five games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Giants again.
Smith started all three games this season after breaking out in a big way in 2024. The 2023 first-round pick out of Georgia started 10 regular-season games and racked up 6 1/2 sacks last season, adding four tackles for loss in the Eagles’ postseason run to Super Bowl LIX.
Smith recorded 10 total tackles in wins over the Cowboys, Chiefs and Rams this season. He forced one fumble and made a key fourth-down stop in Kansas City in Week 2.
Without Smith, the Eagles will have to rely on fellow starter Jalyx Hunt, as well as Josh Uche, Za’Darius Smith, Patrick Johnson, Azeez Ojulari and Ogbo Okoronkwo, to step up.
The Eagles could also use their stockpile of draft capital and make a deal for an edge rusher.
We’ll see how the Eagles rotate their edge rushers without Smith for the first time on Sunday, when they travel to Tampa Bay for a 1 p.m. kick at Raymond James Stadium.