Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie could be the answer to replacing Za’Darius Smith and Nick Sirianni isn’t ruling out the option

The Eagles might not have to waste a trade on finding another pass rusher just yet.

Kelsey Kramer — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell (30) and linebacker Zack Baun (53) against the Denver Broncos at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles were surprised this week after edge rusher Za’Darius Smith announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday.

His abrupt exit leaves the Eagles with a major hole to fill, but they could have his replacement in rookie Jihaad Campbell.

Campbell has been dominating as an inside linebacker all season long, racking up 40 tackles, one quarterback hit, a tackle for loss, two pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one interception.

However, playing outside isn’t anything new to him after spending his college career at Alabama doing just that.

Nick Sirianni Isn’t Ruling Out the Possibility of Moving Campbell to the Outside

When asked by reporters this week if the team would consider putting Campbell on the edge, head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t rule out the option.

“I think that we have a lot of versatility there and that we have a really good linebacker room altogether,” Sirianni said. “We look at everything. We look at everything that we can do to help our team be as successful as we possibly can. So again, we’ll see. I’m not going to talk through some of those things, obviously. I think you guys respect that with not giving opponents any information or anything like that.”

With Smith’s retirement, Philly is currently forced to lean on Josh Uche, Azeez Ojulari, Jalyx Hunt, and Patrick Johnson off the edge.

Sirianni made note that he is confident in the Eagles’ current depth, but he also mentioned his excitement to have Nakobe Dean back in the lineup.

“But really excited about the room,” he said. “Excited to get Nakobe back in there rolling because we know the type of player he is.”

Campbell took reps on the inside and outside throughout training camp. He has also taken a few real game reps on the edge. If the Eagles can’t find someone on the outside to sign or trade for, Campbell makes a ton of sense.

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