Nolan Smith injury update: Eagles LB undergoes surgery for torn triceps suffered in Super Bowl LIX

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith apparently has an extremely high threshold for pain. The gifted pass rusher suffered a torn triceps during their Super Bowl win over the Chiefs and played through it, sources told Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

Smith had surgery on Wednesday. He’s expected to be ready for the start of the season. In the 2024 regular season, he tallied 21 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. He also tallied four sacks in the postseason to go along with 16 tackles. For the entire 2024-2025 campaign, he racked up 60 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.

Against Kansas City in the Super Bowl, he did not tally any stats, but it’s still impressive he was able to play through a torn triceps.

Smith was a dominant player both on the college and high school levels before landing with several of his Georgia teammates on the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith is joined on the Eagles with other former UGA stars such as Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, Nakobe Dean, and Lewis Cine.

Smith was a perennial starter and an important leader in Georgia’s back-to-back national championship titles. He ended his collegiate career with 114 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception. Smith started eight games last season for the Bulldogs before suffering from a season-ending torn pectoral muscle against Florida.

Smith was a blue-chip prospect out of high school, ranked a five-star recruit and the No. 1 overall player in the nation for the 2019 recruiting cycle according to On3’s Industry Rankings. He chose to attend Georgia out of IMG high school in Florida and made an immediate impact, becoming the co-winner of the Bulldogs’ Defensive Newcomer of the Year award in 2019 with 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

On3’s Kaiden Smith also contributed to this article.