Eagles Mailbag: What’s Going On With Jonathan Greenard?
The Philadelphia Eagles will kickoff the regular season against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, September 13. Despite trimming the 91-man roster down to 53 players, there are still questions about the availability of a certain star player on Philadelphia’s defense. What’s going on with Pro Bowl edge rusher Jonathan Greenard? I’ll answer that question and more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has stayed pretty pessimistic regarding the availability of Pro Bowl edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. While Fangio is sometimes a bit too pessimistic, as he was with Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell’s injury ahead of training camp, I believe that he’s right this time around. While both the Eagles and Greenard didn’t seem too concerned about the injury when it initially happened, we have yet to see him on the practice field in anything more than a shirtsey.
Therefore, it’s hard for me to envision him playing at all in Week 1 right now. While the Eagles kept him on the active 53-man roster, I still believe that it could be another week or two before he’s on the field. It’s also worth noting that Greenard wasn’t wearing pads or cleats in a recent post-practice social media video posted by the team, while other players were. Regardless of Greenard’s status, I expect Jalyx Hunt to lead Philadelphia’s edge rusher group in total snaps played this upcoming season. Then Greenard will follow and Nolan Smith Jr. will be third in line.
Unfortunately, the Eagles were able to answer this question before I got the chance to do so. Yet I did share my team captain projection for the Eagles on X before this question was submitted. I believed that Philadelphia would name eight team captains in 2026. Here’s a look at my team captain projection.
Returning Captains:
Saquon Barkley
Jordan Mailata
Lane Johnson
Jalen Hurts
Jake Elliott
Zack Baun
New Captains:
DeVonta Smith
Jordan Davis
The Eagles officially announced seven team captains for the upcoming season. My projection was spot on except for Elliott, who no longer holds the title.
It’s hard to ignore all of the signs pointing towards 2026 being the final season for Elliott in Philadelphia. Following an underwhelming (at best) performance last season, Elliott had his contract restructured for the upcoming season. It was a sign that the Eagles were giving him a vote of confidence for this year but not exactly anything beyond that. Now Elliott wasn’t named a team captain, which is more notable than it may seem from the outside looking in.
Elliott was a four-time team captain for the Eagles, which means that he would’ve donned the gold “C” on his chest in 2026. Yet the veteran kicker didn’t receive the honor and his uncertain future with the team has become even murkier. My guess is that Elliott will be Philadelphia’s kicker this upcoming season but it’s hard to envision him still being with the team in 2027.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has thrown more interceptions than usual during training camp, that’s been well-documented this year. Yet Hurts’ track record when the games actually matter should speak for itself. The 28-year-old quarterback has rarely turned the ball over through the air and I don’t expect him to suddenly turn into James Winston after playing in a new offensive scheme. If anything, Hurts’ history has shown his willingness to adapt and do whatever is required of him to win games.
Do I think that Hurts will throw a couple of more interceptions in 2026? Sure. But I don’t believe that it’ll be an alarming amount that’ll truly hold back the offense. While Hurts hasn’t targeted the middle of the field a ton throughout his career, he has remained relatively efficient when doing so. My guess is that Hurts was throwing over the middle and testing the boundaries of this offense during training camp, when the results didn’t necessarily matter.
I’ve remained high on Philadelphia’s passing game and the changes that were made this offseason. I’m not going to say that it’s going to be the best passing offense in the NFL but Philadelphia’s passing offense should be respectable in 2026. If I had to put a number on my confidence level, I’d go with an 8. The changes that new Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is implementing should help blend the run and the pass game together, which will make it easier for Hurts to find holes in the defense through the air.
This is going to sound like a total cop-out but I’m not sure that there is a definitive number of games that I can point to as a deadline. The Eagles are learning an entirely new offensive scheme for the first time in several years. There are going to be growing pains along the way, which is to be expected. Especially given that Mannion will be calling plays for the first time as an offensive coordinator.
In 2024, Philadelphia’s offense was inconsistent, even during a Super Bowl winning run. Last season, Philadelphia’s offense was even more inconsistent and didn’t have an elite running game to fall back on. I expect this upcoming season’s offense to fall somewhere in the middle. The Eagles should have a top rushing offense and (hopefully) a slightly above league-average passing offense. If they don’t check both of those boxes by December, then I’ll worry.
It’s clear that Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith is going to lead the team in snaps played and targets, if healthy. Yet Philadelphia’s wide receiver depth chart can likely be broken into two tiers after Smith. My guess is that Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon will be next in line as they round out the team’s starting wide receiver trio. Yet I’ll give Wicks a slight nod as second in snaps played due to his blocking ability and the fact that he’ll likely be the second wide receiver on the field in 12-personnel.
Lemon will then likely be third in snaps behind Smith and Wicks. After that is where things get unclear as Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore will battle it out for the remaining snaps. My guess is that Brown will be fourth, Cooper will be fifth and Moore will be sixth and only see a significant amount of snaps if Lemon is injured. Either way, the Eagles are certainly going to mix up their wide receiver usage more than they have in recent years.
Maybe I’m crazy but I believe that this year’s roster compares favorably to Philadelphia’s teams in recent years. While the Eagles obviously lost A.J. Brown, I believe that they’re deeper in areas (including wide receiver) that they weren’t in recent years. For example, Johnny Mundt is an upgrade over Grant Calcaterra, especially from a blocking standpoint. Riq Woolen is a significant upgrade over what the Eagles have been forced to trot out at CB2 in recent years, except for James Bradberry in 2022.
The two biggest downgrades would be the loss of Brown, Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship. Yet I truly believe that Hurts and Philadelphia’s offense will benefit from having more depth and versatility at wide receiver in 2026. While Dean and Blankenship were both great players, I believe that Jihaad Campbell and Marcus Epps can be more than adequate replacements, if not better. Overall, I’d say that this roster has legitimate Super Bowl-winning potential but still has to prove it on the field.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has done a really good job of balancing this roster out, especially after final cuts. Philadelphia’s practice squad now includes a few intriguing, developmental players. Yet there is one concern that I still have regarding the team’s future at tight end. Despite the addition of rookie tight end Eli Stowers, Philadelphia’s roster lacks a long-term running mate alongside of him.
While teams aren’t necessarily lining up to trade away young, talented tight ends, I believe that it could be a position to watch for moving forward. There’s a chance that a team could end up struggling and be willing to part with a young tight end if they’re going to blow it up. Carolina Panthers tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders is a player that I’ve mentioned before, who is under contract for two seasons. New York Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert is another player that fits that mold.
If healthy, I don’t expect much change with the team’s starters throughout the season. The only spot that I could potentially see a change at is safety. While I believe that Marcus Epps is a more than adequate starting safety, it seems like Fangio is very, very intrigued by Michael Carter II and his potential at the position. Once Carter is comfortable at safety, I could see Fangio giving him a real chance as a starter, especially if Epps struggles at all in 2026.
My guess is that the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys will be battling until late in the regular season for the NFC East title. Ultimately, Philadelphia will come out on top and win the division for the third year in a row. I believe that the New York Giants will also be better than many expect, although it may not be good enough for a postseason trip. Lastly, the Washington Commanders will finish fourth in the division. Here are my final NFC East standings predictions.
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-6
Dallas Cowboys: 10-7
New York Giants: 8-9
Washington Commanders: 6-11
I’d go with Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers. Despite being drafted one year earlier than Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren, Bowers is actually seven months younger. Both players are incredibly talented but I’d give Bowers the edge. The biggest thing holding Bowers back from being one of the greatest tight ends of all-time is that he has yet to embrace the bald life. Once he concedes to his poor hairline and thinning hair (like I did), he’ll be one of the best tight ends in NFL history.