The Eagles lost two pass-rushing pillars during the offseason , seeing Brandon Graham retire and Josh Sweat sign with the Cardinals. Those moves increased Nolan Smith Jr.‘s importance to the team.

Philadelphia Eagles lose key defender for near future

Philadelphia will need to get by without its top edge-rusher for the foreseeable future, however. The team placed Smith on IR on Wednesday, with cornerback Jakorian Bennett joining the young sack artist in being sidelined for at least four games via an IR transition. Philly also placed wide receiver Darius Cooper on IR.

None of these injuries is believed to be season-ending, per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s EJ Smith , who adds that surgeries are not expected for Smith, Bennett or Cooper. All would be eligible to return in Week 8, but

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