Greenard won't play Week 1, and the Eagles open without the pass rusher they paid to fix that problem

Jonathan Greenard is out for the opener. The pec strain that landed him on the physically unable to perform list when camp opened has not cleared in time, and Philadelphia will begin the 2026 season without the player the organization spent $98 million to bring in specifically to upgrade the pass rush. When I wrote about this back in early August, the math was already getting uncomfortable. It hasn't gotten better.

The depth chart at defensive end lists Moro Ojomo first, with Jacob Sykes and Keyshawn James-Newby behind him. Those are names the Eagles were not counting on to carry a pass-rush load in Week 1 of a season where the margin for error has already been trimmed by the A.J. Brown trade. Jalen Carter's four-year, $152 million extension makes him the anchor of this defensive front, and Zack Baun remains a legitimate force at linebacker. But a functional pass rush requires more than one interior disruptor and a linebacker — it requires edge pressure, and that's exactly what Greenard was signed to provide.

The Eagles won close games last year at a rate that outpaced what their overall efficiency suggested they should. That kind of execution covers a lot of roster gaps. It won't cover this one indefinitely, particularly with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell both on the injury report heading into the regular season. The defense needs to be able to generate pressure without stacking the box, and right now the personnel to do that consistently isn't available. Greenard's timeline from here is the number to watch.