DeVonta Smith Makes First Public Comments Since Signing Extension
By Jovan Alford
The Philadelphia Eagles have made a concerted effort to keep their core offensive players around for the foreseeable future in the offseason. Thus far, the Eagles have signed Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mailata to massive three-year extensions to solidify their o-line.
However, the Eagles weren’t done handing out the extensions as they inked standout wide receiver DeVonta Smith to a three-year, $75 million contract on Monday. It wasn’t a surprise to see Philadelphia give an extension to Smith, who has developed into one of the better WR2s in the NFL and could be a No. 1 wide receiver on many teams.
Smith spoke with the media on Tuesday for the first time since signing his three-year extension, discussing the team’s roster-building philosophy, the city of Philadelphia, and A.J. Brown.
As for the actual team, Smith emphasized how important it was for the Eagles to have their key offensive players signed for multiple seasons.
The former first-round pick said that “relationships are very important” and added, “When you know somebody well, you feel comfortable pushing them to uncomfortable places to get the best out of everybody,” per John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
DeVonta Smith says having all of the Eagles key offensive players signed for years to come is very important because relationships are very important. He says when you know somebody well, you feel comfortable pushing them to uncomfortable places to get the best out of everybody pic.twitter.com/9vdwkQvNah
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 16, 2024
The Eagles do a great job of not having a lot of roster turnover as continuity leads to success in most instances and have worked for the good teams in the NFL. Smith also showed love to the city and Philadelphia sports fans.
“I don’t think there is a better sports city than Philly. They love it. They live and breathe Philly,” he said (h/t John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
“I don’t think there is a better sports city than Philly. They love it. They live and breathe Philly”
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 16, 2024
-DeVonta Smith says Philly is exactly where he wants to be because of the passion of the Philly sports fans and how much they love all of their teams https://t.co/b8y1d5ipks
Lastly, the former Alabama Crimson Tide star talked about his relationship with A.J. Brown, who is a star too, and has been tremendous in his first two years with the Eagles. Smith said Brown was one of the first people to congratulate him on his extension.
“You have two guys that want to be the Alpha. … But there isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t text each other,” Smith said (h/t Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
DeVonta Smith on his close relationship with A.J. Brown, who was among the first to congratulate his fellow #Eagles WR on his contract extension:
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) April 16, 2024
“You have two guys that want to be the Alpha. … But there isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t text each other.”
If you are an Eagles fan, you are excited to see what Smith can do with Brown and the rest of the team going forward. Smith is coming off a good 2023 season with Philadelphia where he had 81 receptions (112 targets) for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns.
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