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Vic Fangio Buries Eagles Defender in Plans for Remainder of 2024 Season

On Tuesday, the long-time defensive coordinator told reporters a three-man rotation on the EDGE is sustainable but failed to mention one player.

By Jovan Alford

Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio looks on during the first half against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome.
Sep 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio looks on during the first half against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Eagles defensive line has been hit hard by the injury bug recently. Fan favorite Brandon Graham suffered a season-ending torn triceps injury in last week’s road win over the Los Angeles Rams, and that was just a couple weeks after Bryce Huff underwent wrist surgery.

Without Graham and Huff, it puts a lot of pressure on the edge rushers to make an impact with the additional playing time. On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio discussed his plans for the rest of the season for the defensive line and didn’t mention Huff.

According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fangio said a 3-man rotation on the edge with Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt is sustainable. 

Sweat, Smith, and Hunt played well in Sunday’s road win over the Ravens. Sweat didn’t register a sack, but still had five combined tackles. However, Smith was third on the team in tackles with eight, adding a tackle for loss, a sack, and a quarterback hit. 

Finally, Hunt had two total tackles, a quarterback hit, and a half sack. Until Huff returns from his surgery and rehab, this trio will be depended on to apply pressure and wreak havoc.

Even when Huff returns, it’s not guaranteed he’ll have a large role. The veteran pass rusher saw his defensive snaps decrease between Weeks 9-11, playing 32 total snaps. That’s a far cry from what he was doing earlier this season.

The Eagles signed Huff in the offseason in hopes he would be a perfect replacement for star pass rusher Haason Reddick. However, that has yet to come to fruition. Huff has eight QB pressures, four QB hits, and 2.5 sacks in 10 games.

After a slow start to the season, Fangio has turned this defense around to where everybody is playing on the same page, including the pass rush, which has continuously improved.

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