In an offseason full of turnover and change, wide receiver DeVonta Smith will not need to worry in the back of his mind about playing on his fifth-year option to persuade the Philadelphia Eagles brass to keep him beyond 2024.
The former 2021 first-round selection and Heisman Trophy winner, out of the University of Alabama, agreed to a three-year, $75 million extension with the Eagles, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday. Smith’s deal includes $51 million in guaranteed money, according to Rapoport.
The organization later officially announced the signing.
Smith arrived on the scene in the city of ‘Brotherly Love,’ Philadelphia, as a highly decorated star from Alabama, where he had won two national titles and wrapped up his collegiate career by earning both the prestigious Heisman Trophy, the highest individual award you can capture in all of college football and a unanimous All-American selection. There was no doubt that Smith was a baller, but many were skeptical whether his slender build might hamper him at the next level.
So far, it has done the complete opposite. Smith has snagged the most catches (240) and receiving yards (3,178) through his first three seasons in Eagles history, recorded the third-most receptions in a single season in the club’s history with 95 in 2022, and needs a mere 61 receiving yards in a playoff game to eclipse Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael for the team’s playoff record. He is in an elite class being one of only seven receivers in the NFL with 175-plus receptions, 2,500-plus receiving yards and 15-plus receiving touchdowns since the start of the 2022 season.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe is good, and size is not a concern or factor. Smith has proven himself as a player that can take the top off the field and as a catch-and-run machine, and it is no shock to anyone in the NFL community that the Eagles locked him up.
It is also perfect timing on the part of the always-one step ahead Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, who rolled Smith’s fifth-year option, which does not kick in until 2025, into a long-term plan to keep Smith in the fold. With the fifth-year option included, Smith will not begin accounting for the average annual value of $25 million per year until 2026, a number that currently ties him with teammate A.J. Brown for fourth-highest among all NFL receivers, but will likely look much more affordable by the time 2026 arrives.
At 25 years old entering 2024, Smith can count on remaining in Philadelphia through his 29th birthday, setting him up for one more significant bit of the apple, should he continue his career on this trajectory. After back-to-back 1,000-yard, seven-touchdown seasons, all signs suggest Smith will be worth of the money.
