Eagles WR Ainias Smith emerged from “the fire” to make his NFL debut

When Ainias Smith reflects on the journey to his first NFL regular-season game last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, he views his injury-riddled final months as “the fire.”

It started in the spring. Smith, the Eagles’ fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M, sat out organized team activities while recovering from a stress fracture in his tibia. The 6-foot-1, 176-pound receiver got off to a rough start in camp he struggled with drops. When the preseason started, he rolled his surgically repaired ankle against the New England Patriots, an injury he said he further aggravated in the preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

The injury left Smith on injured reserve for the first eight weeks of the season. Despite the challenges that characterized his first few months as an Eagle, Smith emphasized that his condition improved his mental strength.

“God had to throw me through the fire to show me that I can get through anything if I just put my trust and faith in Him,” Smith said Wednesday. “And I feel like I had to go through that.”

With football off the table for almost a month and a half, Smith put his energy into his basic skills. He focused on the details of running, from taking off properly from the ground to using the correct stride length. He took up calisthenics, a form of bodyweight strength training, in an attempt to correct imbalances in his legs caused by an injury. He worked on improving his hands, especially when it came to catching the ball.

By the third or fourth week of his stay on injured reserve, Smith said he started to feel like himself again in his movements. The limp with which he arrived to the team in the spring was a distant issue.

“Just being able to feel the confidence knowing that you can ride off that leg and do the certain things that you want to do, it just feels great,” Smith said.

Entering Week 8, Smith felt like he would be activated in time for the game against the Bengals, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He got his answer when he arrived at the NovaCare Complex last Wednesday. Smith saw his jersey No. 82 called for some plays in the game plan, indicating he would be making his regular season debut.

“That was crazy,” Smith said. “So just going all week, knowing that I was only going to be in the game plan a little bit, and then also going out there and actually doing the reps with those reps was crazy.”

Smith took eight offensive snaps against the Bengals in the Eagles’ 37-17 victory, serving as the pre-snap motion man on each of those plays. Although he never touched the ball, Smith pulled out every synonym for “excited” from the thesaurus to describe his emotions surrounding his first game, from “crazy” to “blessed.” His teammates, who have been there for him throughout his journey, were just as happy for him.

“So proud of Ainias,” AJ Brown said Thursday. ‘I’m going to give him his flowers. He definitely had some growing pains when he first came here. But I’m happy for him, man. He did a great job. That time he was away, he really stayed locked up. You could tell he really wanted it. And that’s hard for a young guy to stay locked up and not really be able to practice. But he tried to do everything he could. They had to tell him, ‘Take it easy.’

“He’s done a great job and hopefully he touches the ball at some point and makes the most of it. We’re happy for him.”

Smith called for the support of his teammates throughout this process, emphasizing that they never turned their backs on him when he was injured and continued to treat him like their brother. Now he looks forward to building on last week’s performance as he continues to figure out his role at the NFL level.

“Honestly, just keep doing what I gotta do to make the team win, you know what I mean?” said Smith. “To help the team win, whether that’s getting the ball on special teams, whether it’s getting the ball on speed sweeps, passing routes, running the ball, it doesn’t matter , you know what I mean?

“I think the next step for me is to be on the field a little more.”

Injury report

Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and Darius Slay (groin) did not participate in training for the second day in a row. Otherwise, the team’s health continues to improve. Mekhi Becton complied with concussion protocol and was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

Jalen Carter (shoulder) and Landon Dickerson (knee) returned to practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. Carter was listed on the injury report as a full participant, while Dickerson was limited. Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen; injured reserve) continues to practice at full capacity as he progresses through the final week of his 21-day practice period.