Nolan Smith reportedly has surgery after tearing triceps in Super Bowl

Nolan Smith reportedly has surgery after tearing triceps in Super Bowl originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn left triceps injury he suffered during the Super Bowl, according to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

They reported that Smith will be “ready for the 2025 season.”

It’s unclear when Smith got hurt, but he played only 30 snaps after averaging 60 in the Eagles’ first three postseason games. It was his fewest snaps since before Brandon Graham got hurt against the Rams in Week 12, when Smith began playing significantly more.

Smith had 4.0 sacks against the Packers, Rams and Commanders, the most ever by an Eagle in a single postseason but didn’t have a sack in the Eagles’ win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans two weeks ago. He was also credited with no tackles after recording 16 in the first three postseason games.

Smith, a 1^st-round pick in 2023, had a breakthrough 2024, with 6 ½ sacks over the last 12 regular-season games along with four in the postseason for a total of 10 ½ sacks in his last 16 games.

Those 4.0 sacks are 2^nd-most in NFL history in a single postseason by a player 23 or younger. Greg Townsend of the Raiders, who later played for the Eagles, had 4 ½ in 1983 at 22 years old.

Smith also had half a sack against Tampa in the 2023 wild-card game and his 4 ½ total sacks are 3^rd-most by a player before his 24^th birthday, behind only the Chiefs’ George Karlaftis III (8.0) and the Texans’ J.J. Watt (5.0).

Smith wasn’t the only Eagles edge rusher who was playing with a torn triceps. Graham played 13 snaps 11 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn triceps.

Three members of this year’s team – Graham, Josh Sweat and Smith – have the most sacks in Eagles postseason history, Graham with 5 ½, Sweat with 5.0 and Smith with 4 ½.

With Sweat facing free agency and Graham turning 37 in April and considering retirement, Smith, Jalyx Hunt and Bryce Huff are the only edge rushers under contract for 2025.

Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Simplecast | RSS | Watch on YouTube