Time to Panic About Jonathan Greenard's Injury?

Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Jonathan Greenard will not play in Sunday’s season opener against the Washington Commanders.

Greenard was limited in practice this past week after missing all of training camp. The former Minnesota Vikings standout initially sustained a pectoral injury during an offseason workout and has been slow to recover. The Eagles elected not to place Greenard on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which would have made him inactive for the first four games. However, Greenard is officially listed as out for Week 1.

So what does this mean for Greenard and the expectations the Eagles have for him in 2026?

The term “load management” has been most closely associated with the National Basketball Association. In other words, veteran players selecting which games to strategically sit out as a way to stay fresh throughout a long marathon season. I think this term will soon be applied to NFL players too, if it isn’t already.

In 2020, the NFL put a new emphasis on quantity rather than quality when it decided to extend the playoff field from six teams per conference to seven. A year later, the league went from a 16-game regular season to 17 games. The league last extended the amount of regular season games in 1978 when they went from 14 to 16 games.

By extending the season an extra game and adding an extra playoff slot for each conference, teams fighting for playoff positioning have more flexibility now than they ever had in the past. In 2025, the Eagles were among the playoff-bound teams that elected to rest all of their key starters during the final week of the regular season.

Not only can a team rest key players at the end of the season, but because of the extra game and extra playoff slot, they can elect to rest a player at the beginning of the season. Defensive lineman Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams also did not suit up for the Week 1 matchup against San Francisco on Thursday. Simply put, the importance of each game has been greatly diluted thanks to schedule and playoff format changes.

Greenard was acquired for two third-round draft choices and quickly signed a four-year, $100 million extension that includes $50 million guaranteed. Therefore, I wouldn’t read too much into this early season absence; the Eagles are just exercising their new-found flexibility to protect their investment.