A day after kicking off the 2025 NFL season with a 24-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, the Philadelphia Eagles moved to strengthen their pass rush by signing Greenville High School alumnus Za’Darius Smith.
Smith will be suiting up for an 11th NFL season after recording nine sacks in nine games with the Cleveland Browns and eight games with the Detroit Lions in 2024.
On Thursday night, Philadelphia did not record a sack as Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw 34 passes.
Against the Cowboys, the Eagles started Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith in the defensive end/outside linebacker spots. Hunt had 1.5 sacks as a rookie in 2024, and Smith had 7.5 sacks in his first two NFL seasons.
Smith has 69 career sacks. During his three Pro Bowl seasons, Smith had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 12.5 sacks in 2020 for the Green Bay Packers and, after a back injury limited him to one game in 2021, 10 sacks in 2022 for the Minnesota Vikings.
Smith filled the roster spot left vacant by fullback Ben VanSumeren. The Eagles placed VanSumeren on injured reserve on Friday after he sustained a knee injury on the opening kickoff on Thursday night.
Philadelphia announced Smith signed a one-year contract on Friday. Terms were not disclosed.
A basketball player at Greenville High School, Smith played football for the Tigers during his senior year. That led him to East Mississippi Community College, and he completed his college career with two seasons at Kentucky.
A fourth-round choice of Baltimore in the 2015 NFL Draft, Smith played four seasons with the Ravens before joining the Green Bay Packers in free agency for a four-year, $66 million contract.
Philadelphia’s next game is on Sept. 14, when the Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs at 3:25 p.m. CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
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