Eagles Star Receiver Will Play After Hamstring Scare, Discusses "Superman"

DeVonta Smith, who didn't practice on Wednesday, was limited Thursday but is good to go, talked about his injury, his one-hand catch, and the team's run-first approach during its 4-game win streak.

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) catches a touchdown pass in front of Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Ronald Darby (25) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA – The big inhale came on Wednesday when DeVonta Smith was listed as a nonparticipant in a walkthrough practice. It was a hamstring that had him out.

The exhale came 48 hours later when Smith was listed as a full participant in Friday's practice and will play against the Cowboys on Sunday. A day earlier, on Thursday, he was limited.

Hamstrings have been a pain in the back of the leg for some vital pieces to the offense this season already. It’s an injury that forced receiver A.J. Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert to miss three games each.

Smith is a go. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said on Friday.

Smith said the injury happened on his 46-yard catch against the Jaguars on Sunday. He stayed in and later caught a 25-yard touchdown. Not just any catch, but one that Smith was asked to rank in the pantheon of some of the great ones he has made through his three-plus seasons in Philly.

“Probably number one,” he said.

Why?

“To be able to drag my feet, get to my back, all the fundamentals of catching the ball when you’re close to the sideline, things like that,” he answered, adding that the hardest part of the grab was doing it with one hand, not so much keeping his feet in bounds because he is always aware of where he is on the field.

Smith leads the team in receiving yards with 473 on 35 catches. It’s not the total Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb has – 53 receptions for 663 yards – but the Cowboys have no run game. They are ranked next-to-last in rushing offense, so their options are limited.

During the Eagles’ four-game winning streak, the most times Jalen Hurts has attempted a pass has been 25 and that was in the first win in the win streak. He attempted 14, 20, and 24 times in his next three games.

The Eagles have become a high-powered run offense with Saquon Barkley and Hurts getting his yards in the run game. Smith is fine with that, but that doesn’t make it easy to accept all the time.

“It’s tough, especially as a guy that wants the ball, a guy that wants to go out there and be productive and help the offense succeed,” said Smith. “It’s tough, but you can’t get down about it because at the end of the day we’re winning. Like I always say, when you got Superman in the backfield doing the things he do, jumping over people backwards, you expect that.

“They’re going to hand him the ball and I have no problem with that. It just comes down, like we say in our room, when it comes to you, you have to make the most of your opportunity.”

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