Eagles rookie WR Ainias Smith emerged out of ‘the fire’ to make his NFL debut against the Bengals

When Ainias Smith reflects on the journey to his first regular-season NFL game last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, he considers his last few injury-riddled months “the fire.”

It started in the spring. Smith, the Eagles’ fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M, sat out of organized team activities while recovering from a stress fracture in his shin. The 5-foot-9, 176-pound receiver got off to a rough start in camp as he struggled with drops. As the preseason began, he rolled his surgically-repaired ankle against the New England Patriots, an injury that he said he aggravated further in the preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

The injury landed Smith on injured reserve for the first eight weeks of the season. Despite the challenges that characterized his first few months as an Eagle, Smith emphasized that his plight improved his mental fortitude.

» READ MORE: Eagles DT Moro Ojomo credits everyone but himself for his rise: ‘You need the people around you’

“God had to throw me through the fire to be able to show me that I can be able to stand through anything if I just put my trust and faith in him,” Smith said on Wednesday. “And I feel like that’s what I had to go through.”

With football off the table for nearly a month and a half, Smith poured his energy into his fundamentals. He focused on the details of running, from pushing off the ground properly to utilizing the right stride length. He did calisthenics, a form of body weight strength training, in an effort to fix the imbalances in his legs that had cropped up due to injury. He worked on improving his hands, especially when it came to catching the ball.

By the third or fourth week of his stint on injured reserve, Smith said he started to feel like himself again in his movements. The limp that he arrived to the team with in the spring was a distant memory.

“Just being able to feel that confidence knowing that you can drive off that leg and you can do the certain things that you want to do, it just feels great, for sure,” Smith said.

Going into Week 8, Smith had a feeling he was going to be activated in time for the game against the Bengals, but he wasn’t entirely sure. He received his answer when he arrived at the NovaCare Complex last Wednesday. Smith saw his jersey No. 82 being called for some plays in the game plan, indicating that he would be making his regular-season debut.

“That was crazy,” Smith said. “So just going throughout the week knowing that I was going to be in the game plan just a little bit, and then also going out there and actually repping the reps with the ones was crazy.”

Smith took eight offensive snaps against the Bengals in the Eagles’ 37-17 victory, serving as the pre-snap motion man on each of those plays. Even though he never touched the ball, Smith pulled out every synonym of “excited” in the thesaurus to describe his emotions surrounding his first game, from “crazy” to “blessed.” His teammates, who have been there for him along his journey, were equally happy for him.

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio is feeling good about the Eagles defense. Is there a trade that could help it further?

“So proud of Ainias,” A.J. Brown said on Thursday. “I’m going to give him his flowers. He definitely had some growing pains when he first got here. But I’m happy for him, man. He’s been doing a great job. That time away, he really stayed locked in. You could tell he really wanted it. And that’s tough for a young guy just to stay locked in, not really being able to practice. But he was trying to do everything he could. They had to tell him, ‘Slow down.’

“He’s been doing a great job and hopefully he’ll touch the ball at some point and he’ll make the most of it. We’re happy for him.”

Smith touted the support of his teammates throughout this process, emphasizing that they never turned their backs on him when he was injured and continued to treat him like their brother. Now he’s looking forward to building on last week’s performance as he continues to figure out his role at the NFL level.

» READ MORE: Is A.J. Brown the greatest Eagles receiver of all time?

“Honestly, just keep doing what I got to do to make the team win, you know what I’m saying?” Smith said. “To help the team win, whether that’s getting the ball on special teams, whether that’s getting the ball on speed sweeps, pass routes, running the ball, it don’t matter, you know I’m saying?

“I just think the next step for me is just getting on the field a little bit more.”

Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and Darius Slay (groin) did not participate in practice for a second straight day. Otherwise, the health of the team continues to improve. Guard Mekhi Becton cleared concussion protocol and was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

» READ MORE: Landon Dickerson Q&A: Eagles O-lineman on his secret language with Jordan Mailata, lawn fascination, and more

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulder) and guard Landon Dickerson (knee) returned to practice after sitting out on Wednesday. Carter was listed on the injury report as a full participant, while Dickerson was limited. Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen; injured reserve) continues to practice in a full capacity as he progresses through the final week of his 21-day practice window.