When the Philadelphia Eagles needed edge rusher Nolan Smith the most in 2025, he wasn’t there.
When Smith needs the Eagles the most — when it’s time to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract — he may find his team will be the one that goes missing.
Smith’s struggles to make an impact in big games and stay healthy should be taken into account as the 2023 first round pick heads into his fourth season and after the Eagles were booted from the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
“Smith missed 7 weeks of 2025 with an arm injury, which limited his ability to build off of what was a nice breakout campaign in 2024 (7 sacks, 40 tackles, 1 forced fumble),” Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti wrote. “There’s plenty to like here, but it might be difficult for Philly to justify a near $19M guaranteed salary exercise.”
It’s almost impossible to see the Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman committing to play Smith $19 million at this point.
Smith Has Failed to Make Big Impression
It’s hard to even look at Smith’s 2024 season as the breakout year it’s being presented as considering he played opposite edge rusher Josh Sweat, who led the team with 10.0 sacks, and next to a trio of elite interior defensive linemen in NFL All-Pro Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams.
How valuable were Sweat and Williams? The 2 garnered almost $200 million in free agency following last year’ Super Bowl win. Sweat landed a 4-year, $76.4 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals and Williams hit pay dirt with a staggering 4-year, $100.4 million contract from the New England Patriots.
When we take all of that into account, Smith’s success in 2024 now seems like more of a mirage than anything else. Even his 4.0 sacks in 4 postseason games on the way to winning Super Bowl LIX now don’t carry as much shine.
There’s also the matter of Smith being grossly undersized for his position. At 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds, he’s 2-3 inches shorter and 20-30 pounds lighter than the elite players at his position.
That doesn’t speak well to his long-term durability — or getting another payday from Philadelphia beyond his current 4-year, $11.9 million rookie contract.
Many See Smith’s Value Beyond Box Score
One thing Smith seems to continually do is rate praise for doing things that don’t show up in the box score, necessarily.
“Nolan Smith has dealt with injuries this season and has only recorded three sacks,” The Philly Special’s Anthony DiBona wrote on January 9. “Yet I think he has been an impactful player when he is on the field and what he does extends beyond just the box score. Smith is a solid run defender that is physical setting the edge, but he can also provide juice as a pass rusher. It feels like Smith does a lot of the dirty work, which sometimes ends up in other players along Philadelphia’s defensive front recording a sack or tackle for loss.”
If the Eagles do commit big money to an edge rusher this offseason, it will likely be 6-foot-5, 266-pound Jaelan Phillips, who could land something in the range of a 3-year contract worth anywhere from $60 million to $80 million.
Eagles Urged to Decline Option on Former First Round Pick