Eagles WR Ainias Smith came out of the fire to make his NFL debut

When Ainias Smith looks back on the trip to his first regular-season NFL game last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, he considers his recent injury-plagued months to be “fire.”

It started in spring. Smith, a fifth-round pick of the Eagles out of Texas A&M, did not participate in organized team activities while recovering from a stress fracture in his shin. The 5-foot-10, 176-pound receiver had a rocky start to camp as a he struggled with the drops. Early in the preseason, he sprained his surgically repaired ankle against the New England Patriots, and the injury he said worsened in the preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

The injury kept 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 difficult situation improved his fortitude.

“God had to throw me into the fire to show me that I can get through anything if I just trust Him,” Smith said Wednesday. “And I feel like that’s what I had to go through.”

With no football for almost a month and a half, Smith put all his energy into his fundamentals. He focused on the details of running, from getting off the ground correctly to using the right stride length. He practiced calisthenics, a form of bodyweight strength training, in an attempt to correct the imbalance in his legs that had developed as a result of his injury. He has been working on improving his hands, especially when it comes to catching the ball.

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

“Just feeling confident that you can get over that leg and do some things that you want to do, it’s definitely a great feeling,” Smith said.

Entering Week 8, Smith had a feeling he would be activated for the Bengals game, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He received his answer after arriving at the NovaCare complex last Wednesday. Smith saw his No. 82 jersey called out for some plays in the game plan, which indicated he would be making his regular-season debut.

“It was crazy,” Smith said. “So just going through the entire week knowing that I was only going to be in the game plan for a little while, and then also going out there and actually getting reps with those was crazy.”

Smith played eight offensive snaps against the Bengals in the Eagles’ 37-17 victory, serving as pre-snap manager on each of those plays. Even though he never touched the ball, Smith pulled every synonym of “excited” from the dictionary to describe his emotions for the first game, from “crazy” to “blessed.” His teammates who accompanied him on his journey were equally happy for him.

“I’m very proud of Ainias,” AJ Brown said Thursday. “I’m going to give him flowers. He definitely had some growing pains when he got here. But I’m happy for him, man. He does a great job. He was really withdrawn during this time. It was obvious he really wanted it. And it’s hard for a young guy to stay shut down and not be able to exercise. But he tried to do everything he could. They had to tell him, “Slow down.”

“He’s doing a great job and I hope he touches the ball at some point and makes the most of it. We are happy for him.”

Smith touted the support of his teammates throughout the process, emphasizing that they never turned their back on him when he was injured and continued to treat him like their brother. Now he’s looking forward to building on last week’s performance and continuing to figure out his role at the NFL level.

“Honestly, just keep doing what you have to do to help the team win. You know what I’m saying?” Smith said. “To help the team win, whether it’s taking the ball on special teams or passing the ball on quick runs, passing routes, running the ball, it doesn’t matter, you know what I’m saying?

“I think the next step for me will just be to be on the field more often.”

Injury report

Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and Darius Slay (groin) missed practice for the second day in a row. Otherwise, the team’s health will continue to improve. Mekhi Becton passed concussion protocol and was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

Jalen Carter (shoulder) and Landon Dickerson (knee) returned to practice Thursday after Wednesday’s break. Carter was listed on the injury report as a full participant, while Dickerson was limited. Albert Okwuegbunam (abdominal; injured reserve) continues to train at full speed in the final week of his 21-day training window.