Another week, another Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher lost to injury.
The one position the Eagles’ defense probably can’t afford to lose any more players at saw another go down when news broke that veteran edge rusher and Super Bowl champion Ogbo Okoronkwo was lost to the season after suffering a torn triceps in a Week 4 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Okoronkwo was playing his first game of the year against the Buccaneers — a game in which the Eagles struggled to get to Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield but still came away with a 31-25 win and are 4-0 to start the season.
“Eagles OLB Ogbo Okoronkwo is believed to have tore his triceps in the Bucs game and is likely headed to injured reserve, per NFL sources,” The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane wrote on his official X account on September 29. “Still awaiting more testing. Edge rusher depth taking a hit last few weeks with Nolan Smith (triceps) on IR and not expected back till November.”
Okoronkwo signed a 1-year, $1.255 million contract with the Eagles on July 22.
“Ogbo Okoronkwo is expected to be done for the season, source confirmed,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on September 29. “A hit to Eagles depth.”
Veteran Defender Won Super Bowl in NFC West
Okoronkwo, 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, was a 2-time All-Big 12 pick and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Oklahoma in 2017 before the Los Angeles Rams selected him in the fifth round (No. 160 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.
He missed his rookie season after foot surgery but played 3 more seasons with the Rams with a large role on special teams — including winning a Super Bowl following the 2021 season — before playing one season with the Houston Texans in 2022.
In one season in Houston, Okoronkwo had career highs in games (17), starts (8), tackles (44), sacks (5.0) and TFL (9). He turned that into a 3-year, $19 million free agent contract with the Browns before the 2023 season and in a strictly part time role with the Browns over the last 2 years has 7.5 sacks while playing less than 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
After the end of the 2025 season, Okoronkwo will have approximately $25.2 million in career earnings.
Losing Smith Major Blow to Defensive Structure
Smith placed on the injured reserve on September 24 — which means the Eagles will be without their most experienced pass rusher for at least 4 games.
“Sources: Eagles OLB Nolan Smith strained his triceps Sunday, and now is expected to be sidelined through the team’s Nov. 2 bye,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on September 24. “He could return for the Monday night Nov. 10 game at Green Bay. Smith had triceps surgery a week after the Super Bowl and aggravated the injury last week. The plan now is to let him rest, then return after the bye.”
We saw what happens to interior defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter without an edge rusher teams have to account for. When teams don’t have to worry about what’s coming off the edge they can double team Davis or Carter to try and shut them down.
Neither Davis or Carter had a sack or a QB hit against the Buccaneers.
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