DeVonta Smith (hamstring) sidelined on Thursday

It sounds like Smith may end up being listed as a limited participant. We will learn more when the injury report comes out later today. Hopefully, this is just veteran rest as the Eagles gear up for a Week 3 Monday Night Football game against the Bears. Eagles WR Dontayvion Wicks took a hard fall in Week 2 and missed a few plays. He later told reporters that he “will be good.” If Wicks is indeed good and Smith is not, Wicks would operate as the receiving corps’ top option.

The 74 yards were the fifth most of Wicks’ career, putting him one ahead of the 73 he posted in his first game as an Eagle last week. The former Packer is off to a great Philly start from a compiling standpoint, though he did lose snaps to Darius Cooper as the game wore on this afternoon. Hopefully that was for some inscrutable matchup-based reason. Wicks can rug pull with the best of them, so despite the two strong efforts to begin the year, he should be considered more of a WR5 than WR4 heading into Week 3 in Chicago.

Coming off a quiet opener (3/53/0), Smith rebounded with the third 10-catch performance of his now six-year career. A whopping four of his receptions came on what proved to be the game-winning touchdown drive in the dying moments of the fourth quarter. Smith’s score was a 22-yarder where he slipped behind the safety and a rolled-out Jalen Hurts found him on the move. The duo almost connected for another long score, but Smith couldn’t quite get both feet in-bounds in the end zone. All in all, it was excellent stuff as the Eagles now get an extra day of rest ahead of a Week 3 Monday night date with a questionable Bears defense.

Wicks came up with the biggest play of the day for either team when he hauled in a 64-yard pass in the first quarter from Jalen Hurts. Wicks came down with a pass that traveled over 40 yards in the air after Commanders CB Mike Sainristil lost track of it, and ran for another 20-plus yards before being brought down on the Commanders’ six-yard line, eventually setting up a touchdown by Dallas Goedert. In the second quarter, Wicks would again break free from Sainristil, this time in the end zone to secure a nine-yard touchdown. Wicks ran as the Eagles’ WR2 in this one, with his 48 snaps and 31 routes run ranking second only to DeVonta Smith. That said, his low target total leaves plenty to be desired, making him hard to trust in Week 2’s game against the Titans.

Smith was largely a non-factor for the Eagles in Sunday’s win over the Commanders, but the newly minted WR1 did lead his team with six targets. Smith’s biggest play came in the third quarter when he broke free down the right sideline and hauled in a 31-yard catch that helped position the Eagles for an eventual field goal by Jake Elliott. Smith and the Eagles faced a good amount of resistance from a Commanders defense that looked better than expected. He’ll be firmly on the WR2 radar in what should be a plus matchup against the Titans next week.

Smith has missed more than a week of practice time, but on Monday, he was seen warming up on the sidelines in shoulder pads. We don’t know if Smith will be a full or limited participant, but his return in any capacity is an encouraging sign for the Eagles and fantasy managers.

While Smith’s injury isn’t believed to be serious, the Eagles are clearly taking their time with their new WR1. Smith has been sidelined for nearly a week and will remain on the sidelines to begin the third week of camp. If Smith can begin ramping things up closer to the start of the season, it will be safe to assume he’ll be good to go for Week 1.

Smith continues to miss practice with a hamstring injury. While the injury isn’t considered to be serious, the Eagles still aren’t going to push Smith in practice just yet. He figures to be the top target in the Eagles new offense under new OC Sean Mannion in the wake of the Eagles trading A.J. Brown this offseason.

Fowler noted that Wicks has been taking advantage of his extra opportunities with both DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon sidelined. Philly traded for Wicks this offseason and even added an additional year to his contract after making the move. Wicks played under new OC Sean Mannion in Green Bay, giving him some extra familiarity with the offense. He may still be stuck with a No. 3 role once Lemon and Smith are healthy, but Wicks should produce the occasional spike week as the team’s deep ball specialist.

It’s a blow to the Eagles as first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion uses training camp to install his system and ensure the team’s key players — including Lemon and Smith — are acclimated to the offense before the regular season. Hopefully the Eagles’ top two wideouts don’t miss much time with the soft tissue injuries. We can expect Eagles coaches to be cautious with Smith, the team’s new No. 1 receiver, and Lemon, who will likely play primarily from the slot in 2026. The Athletic’s Zach Berman said this week that the team “seems committed to finding ways to get [Lemon] the ball.”