Eagles’ Fangio Offers Guarded Outlook on Jonathan Greenard’s Pec Injury, Setting Up Bigger Roles for Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio isn’t as confident as general manager Howie Roseman that Jonathan Greenard will be ready for Week 1. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Fangio said Greenard’s pectoral injury could keep the edge rusher out for a chunk of training camp, and that whether he’s ready for the Sept. 13 opener against Washington “remains to be seen,” according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
That’s a notably different tone than the one Roseman struck a day earlier. The GM called the injury nothing serious.
“This is not a long-term injury,” Roseman said. “This is nothing we’re concerned about.”
Fangio, a coach with a reputation for blunt answers, wasn’t willing to go that far.
“He’s going to miss a good bit of camp,”
Fangio said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Greenard strained his pec lifting weights just before camp opened and landed on the active/PUP list, according to ESPN. Players on active/PUP can be activated at any point during camp, but if Greenard is still there when the regular season starts, he’d be shifted to reserve/PUP and forced to miss the first four games automatically.
A costly investment now sitting on the shelf
The Eagles didn’t add Greenard as an afterthought. Philadelphia sent two third-round picks — this year’s and next year’s — to Minnesota on draft weekend in April to acquire him, then signed him to a four-year, $100 million contract that includes $50 million guaranteed, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was brought in as the replacement for Jaelan Phillips, who left for Carolina in free agency.
Greenard, 29, is coming off a rocky 2025 with the Vikings, limited to 12 games by a shoulder injury that eventually required season-ending surgery. Before that, he’d posted back-to-back double-digit sack seasons and made the Pro Bowl in his first year in Minnesota.
| Player | 2025 Games | 2025 Sacks | 2025 TFLs/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Greenard | 12 | 3 | Shoulder injury, season-ending surgery |
| Nolan Smith | 12 | 3 | 31 TFLs, 11 QB hits; limited by triceps injury |
| Jalyx Hunt | 17 | 6.5 | 52 tackles, 2 FF, 3 INTs, 1 TD |
Smith and Hunt inherit the reps — and the audition
With Greenard sidelined, the door opens wider for Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt to log first-team snaps opposite each other for the foreseeable future. Fangio typically rotates his edge rushers regardless of who technically starts, but with a long-term second contract for one of them likely on the table down the road, every camp rep carries extra weight.
Smith was limited to 12 games in 2025 by a triceps injury and didn’t build on his 2024 breakout, finishing with 31 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits and three sacks. Hunt, by contrast, quietly had one of the more well-rounded seasons on the roster — 52 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three interceptions and a touchdown across 17 games, production that included a sack of Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. Fangio trusted him enough to play 693 snaps, using him equally as a pass rusher and as a coverage defender out of the backfield.
Both players are already under team control through at least 2027 via Smith’s picked-up fifth-year option, so this isn’t strictly a “make the roster” battle. It’s a chance to set the market for whoever the Eagles prioritize when a second contract comes due.
The safety picture is still just as crowded
Greenard’s injury isn’t the only thing reshaping camp roles. On the back end, Fangio is still sorting out who lines up at free safety next to Andrew Mukuba. Marcus Epps entered camp as the favorite after closing out 2025 as the starter, but Michael Carter II has made himself impossible to ignore. Fangio said this week that Carter is “learning three positions” — safety, nickel and sixth-DB duties in the team’s dime package — and is “our starting dime right now,” according to Yahoo Sports.
Carter, acquired from the Jets at the 2025 trade deadline, played only 106 snaps for Philadelphia last season after reworking his contract to facilitate the trade. He re-signed with the Eagles this offseason and has spent camp cross-training at a position he also played in college at Duke.
What it means
None of this changes Philadelphia’s plan at edge rusher long-term — Greenard is still the projected top of the depth chart once healthy. But the gap between Roseman’s “nothing to worry about” and Fangio’s “remains to be seen” is worth watching heading into the preseason. If Greenard’s return slips much further, reserve/PUP and a four-game absence to open the season becomes a real possibility, which would hand Smith and Hunt an extended runway to make their case as the long-term answer opposite him.
