The Philadelphia Eagles will open the 2026 season without one of their highest-paid defensive players after ruling edge rusher Jonathan Greenard out of Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders.
“Jonathan Greenard ruled out for Sunday’s opener,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday.
Greenard, who signed a four-year, $98 million contract after arriving in a draft-weekend trade from Minnesota, has not played in a game since last season. He strained his pectoral muscle while lifting weights before training camp and missed every practice and preseason snap until this week.
Rookie TE Eli Stowers (hamstring) is questionable.
Greenard practiced in a limited role Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after coming off the physically unable to perform list late in camp. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said the staff would be careful with a player who had so little recent work.
Greenard told reporters Thursday he felt close but not fully ready. He described the setback as a freak lifting injury that did not require surgery. Coach Nick Sirianni left the final call to the medical staff.
The Eagles sent two third-round picks to the Vikings for Greenard in April, then immediately gave him a lucrative extension that included $50 million in guarantees. He produced 12.5 sacks in 2023 with Houston and 12.0 sacks in 2024 with Minnesota, missing only two regular-season games across those two years.
Injuries have followed him. Greenard missed five games in 2025 with a shoulder problem that needed surgery. He now sits at 38 career sacks in 77 games.
Without him Sunday, Philadelphia is expected to start Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt on the edges. Hunt led the Eagles with 6.5 sacks and three interceptions last season. Smith had three sacks in 12 games after missing time with his own pectoral injury.
The Commanders present a softer target on the left side. Starting tackle Laremy Tunsil tore his triceps in training camp, had surgery and is expected to miss the entire regular season. Washington will use a replacement on Jayden Daniels’ blind side.
Greenard said he is listening to his body and the training staff.
“Obviously, it’s not 100 percent,” he said Thursday, adding that he is “in a pretty good spot” but that the season is a marathon.
Fangio compared the situation to a player returning from rust rather than a fresh injury. Even if Greenard had been cleared, the coordinator indicated he would not have played a full snap count.
The Eagles kept Greenard on the 53-man roster instead of placing him on the season-opening PUP list, a move that would have cost him at least the first four games. That decision suggests the team still expects him back soon, possibly as early as Week 2 against Tennessee.
Sunday’s kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. Eastern at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia enters the NFC East opener healthier than Washington overall, but the absence of a $98 million pass rusher still leaves a noticeable hole on the defensive line.
Stowers, a second-round pick, is the only other Eagles player listed on the final injury report. He has said he expects to play, likely on special teams behind Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt.
For Greenard, the wait continues. When healthy, the 6-foot-3, 263-pound rusher has shown he can disrupt offenses at a high level. Philadelphia is betting that patience now will pay off later in the season.
