Revealed: Eagles' Nolan Smith played through Super Bowl with use of just one arm after suffering brutal injury

During the first half of the Super Bowl, Philadelphia Eagles defender Nolan Smith reportedly tore his triceps and played through in the second half.

The injury has been revealed nearly two weeks after the game took place in New Orleans, with many fans of this star not noticing a difference in his play. The Eagles defeated the Chiefs in part due to their spectacular defensive play.

Smith had surgery on Wednesday and is expected to be ready for the 2025 season, per Ian Rapoport.

In the championship game, Smith did not record a tackle or a sack, but did hit Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes twice.

The Eagles’ pass-rusher was seen as jubilant during the game and at the championship parade in Philadelphia. 

Smith’s injury adds to the list of Eagles’ ailments the team played through to win their first Super Bowl in seven years. 

Smith had surgery on Wednesday and is expected to be ready for the start of next season

Brandon Graham came off injured reserve 10 weeks after triceps surgery and the offensive line pair of Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens had knee and back surgery respectively since the win. 

There is typically a six-month recovery time for a torn triceps, with that placing Smith’s return in the middle of the preseason. 

Smith will be entering the third year of a 4-season, near-$12million contract with the Eagles this fall as an integral piece of its defense.

Smith’s ordeal is similar to that of WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who tore his triceps clean off the bone in 2022 and was allowed to have one more big match before surgery sidelined him for several months. 

Rhodes suffered the injury in training less than a week before a main-event match against Seth Rollins. 

He was cleared for the bout, even with entertainment purposes abound, due to doctors saying he could not damage his triceps any further now that it was completely removed from the bone. 

It is unknown if Smith’s injury was of the same severity.