Eagles make plethora of moves, place Nolan Smith, Jakorian Bennett, Darius Cooper on IR
Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. (3) reacts against the Green Bay Packers during the second half in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
After such an astounding victory on Sunday, Wednesday’s news was much more unremarkable.
The Eagles placed Nolan Smith, Jakorian Bennett, and Darius Cooper on Injured Reserve on Wednesday afternoon. None of these injuries is reported to require surgery.
The team signed Marcus Epps, Cameron Latu, and Parry Nickerson to the active roster. Lance Dixon, Eli Ricks, and Quez Watkins were signed to the practice squad.
Smith strained his triceps on Sunday and is expected to be out through the bye week, which is Week 9, which would have him miss the next five games. He has to miss a minimum of four. The Eagles’ first game off the bye is Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field against the Packers on November 10. Remember, Smith had triceps surgery a week after the Super Bowl. He has reaggravated the injury. The plan now is to let him rest, then return after the bye.
Smith had just 6.5 sacks during the regular season last year, but a franchise-record 4.0 in the postseason. He does not have any sacks so far this year.
This is a big loss for the Eagles. They have had a lack of pressure from the edge so far, but they do have some depth at the position. They are carrying seven edge rushers, with Jalyx Hunt as the other starter, and Joshua Uche and Za’Darius Smith have been the next ones off the bench. Patrick Johnson, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Azeez Ojulari are also on the roster. Johnson played in Weeks 1 and 2, but Okoronkwo and Ojulari have been inactive all season.
Bennett has been the Eagles’ CB3 this season, but has outperformed their CB2, Adoree’ Jackson. So another hefty loss for the Eagles there. Kelee Ringo will presumably be promoted to the third outside corner spot. He had a disappointing training camp, but he can now turn that around and hopefully step up over the next four weeks.
The Eagles signed Cooper as an undrafted free agent out of Tarleton State University. He has yet to record a target.
Epps could step in as well. He was a starting safety for the Eagles on the 2022 NFC Championship team. He has played in all three games so far as a game-day call-up, but has only gotten snaps on special teams.
And how about the Eagles bringing back our old friend Watkins? Hopefully, he has wiped the butter off his fingers.
Another note, Zack Baun was spotted at practice on Wednesday with a brace on his left leg. He was still able to practice. Baun’s counterpart, on the other hand, rookie Jihaad Campbell, had a sleeve on his right leg and did not participate.
Campbell said to reporters that he is a little nicked up and is taking it day by day.
The Eagles are flying to Tampa Bay on Friday, rather than Saturday, to get used to the heat in preparation for their Week 4 matchup with the Buccaneers. The Eagles lost three of their last four in Tampa. Anticipated degree at kickoff Sunday is 87 degrees Fahrenheit with sun.
Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
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