Eagles rookie WR Ainias Smith provides injury update

The Philadelphia Eagles are taking things slow with rookie wide receiver Ainias Smith, who is dealing with a stress fracture in his left shin he suffered at the NFL Combine. 

Smith didn't participate in any drills during rookie minicamp, however, he was on the sidelines taking mental notes. 

“I’m just excited to be here and eager to work," Smith said last weekend. "They’ve been trying to use me slowly, not trying to rush me back or anything like that. Right now, honestly, I feel pretty smooth. The recovery has been going very well, so I’m excited and ready to get out there.”

Smith, who was drafted in the fifth round out of Texas A&M product, brings a lot of versatility to the Eagles with his ability to play running back and return punts and kicks. 

During his final season with the Aggies, Smith hauled in 53 catches for 795 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 21 yards on five carries, and averaged 14.3 yards per punt return on 20 attempts. 

Since he's not able to participate in full workouts right now, Smith has been spending his time wisely: with his head in the playbook. He's also used his downtime to study XFL kickoff returns since the NFL's new kickoff is nearly identical to theirs. 

It helps that his dad, Marcus Smith Sr., who played in the Canadian Football League, is there to offer advice for taking his game to the next level. 

“My dad has been giving me a lot of advice, Smith said. "One thing he's been telling me is you don’t want to make mistakes. When that time comes for cuts to happen, you don’t want ‘The Bookmaster’ to come tap your shoulder and say ‘Hey, Coach wants to meet with you.’ I’m just trying to limit the mistakes, make sure I’m in that playbook every single day, and gain trust from the coaches, the quarterbacks, and stuff like that. Most of all, it’s about being a professional about everything.”

Stress fractures are nothing to really worry about, but it's good that the Eagles are taking early precautions. As long as Smith is keeping up with the classroom work and is ready to go for day 1 of training camp, that's all that matters.