May 24, 2017
In his three years after the Philadelphia Eagles made him their first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Marcus Smith has 23 tackles, four sacks, and a whole lot of disappointed and/or annoyed Eagles fans.
Smith's base salary this season is $889,515, with a roster bonus of $594,000 coming on the third day of training camp. If the Eagles were to release Smith prior to the third day of camp, they would save $1,483,515. That will be a no-brainer decision, especially now that Smith is a third-string defensive end, behind Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Vinny Curry, and rookie Derek Barnett.
The only thing that could really save Smith from being cut prior to the third day of camp would be standout performances in OTAs and minicamps.
Except, on the first day of voluntary OTAs, Smith was absent and the Eagles do not yet have comment on his whereabouts. In fact, when Doug Pederson listed the players opting to miss OTAs, he listed only Fletcher Cox, Jason Peters, and Donnie Jones. It would appear Pederson didn't even know Smith would be missing.
Smith's absence could very well turn out to be something valid, but according to Tim McManus of ESPN, early word was that he was just skipping OTAs because he can.
Seems odd given his standing, but early word on Marcus Smith's absence is that he simply opted not to attend voluntary session.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) May 23, 2017
Nobody from Smith's camp has made claims otherwise as of early Wednesday morning. It's probably more likely that he already knows he's a goner and just didn't show up.
The end of the Marcus Smith era in Philly is near.
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