Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith did not practice on Thursday, leaving his status for his team’s season finale against the New York Giants up in the air, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Smith is dealing with an ankle injury he suffered during the Eagles’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. He logged three catches for 30 yards before leaving the game.
On the season overall, Smith has caught 81 passes for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns.
Philadelphia has already clinched a playoff berth, but it still has the opportunity to capture the NFC East division title with a win over the Giants coupled with a Dallas Cowboys loss to the Washington Commanders.
However, Philly may be more concerned with getting Smith healthy for the postseason rather than trying to win what seems to be an unlikely division crown this weekend.
The Eagles will not have a first-round bye regardless of what they do against New York, so it might be wiser to just make sure Smith is fully healthy (or at least as healthy as possible) for the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. That would obviously mean resting Smith in Week 18.
Smith, who played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama, was selected by Philadelphia with the 10th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The 25-year-old has never missed a game.
He enjoyed a terrific rookie campaign, snaring 64 balls for 916 yards and five scores. Smith then followed that up with a breakout year in 2022, hauling in 95 receptions for 1,196 yards while reaching the end zone seven times.
Philadelphia’s aerial attack has been struggling in recent weeks and ranks just 16th in the NFL overall, so obviously, having Smith healthy is paramount to the club’s success going into the playoffs.
Along with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith is one half of one of the most lethal wide receiver duos in football.
Philly is 11-5 on the season.
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