Wide receiver DeVonta Smith won't need to play out his fifth-year option to convince the Philadelphia Eagles to keep him beyond 2024.
The former 2021 first-round selection agreed to a three-year, $75 million extension with the Eagles, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday. Smith's deal includes $51 million in guaranteed money, per Rapoport.
The team later announced the signing.
Smith arrived in Philadelphia as a highly touted star from Alabama, where he'd won two national titles and closed his collegiate career by earning the Heisman Trophy and a unanimous All-American selection. It was clear to everyone Smith could play, but many wondered whether his slender frame might doom him at the next level.
So far, it hasn't. Smith has the most receptions (240) and receiving yards (3,178) through his first three seasons in Eagles history, recorded the third-most receptions in a single season in the club's history with 95 in 2022, and needs just 61 receiving yards in a playoff game to pass Harold Carmichael for the team's playoff record. He's one of only seven receivers in the NFL with 175-plus receptions, 2,500-plus receiving yards and 15-plus receiving touchdowns since the start of the 2022 season.
He's good, and size isn't a concern. Smith has proven himself as both a deep threat and a catch-and-run machine, and it's no surprise the Eagles locked him up.
It's also wise timing on the part of the always-savvy Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, who rolled Smith's fifth-year option -- which doesn't take effect until 2025 -- into a long-term plan to retain Smith. With the fifth-year option included, Smith won't begin accounting for the average annual value of $25 million per year until 2026, a number that currently ties him with teammate A.J. Brown for fourth-highest among all NFL receivers, but will likely look much more affordable by the time 2026 arrives.
At 25 years old entering 2024, Smith can count on remaining in Philadelphia through his 29th birthday, setting him up for one more lucrative pay day, should he continue his career at this pace. After two straight 1,000-yard, seven-touchdown seasons, all signs suggest Smith will be worth the money.
