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When is DeVonta Smith coming back? Will DeVonta Smith play again this season? Read about DeVonta Smith's return date and injury updates for 2026.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was in a great spot to take over as his team's top wide receiver after the departure of A.J. Brown this offseason, but the season hasn't started how his fantasy managers would have hoped.
Smith did show his upside with a big Week 2, but he was disappointing in Week 3 and missed Week 4 with an injury.
When is Smith coming back? Will he miss most of the season? Let's dive in!
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DeVonta Smith Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Over the first three weeks, Smith accounted for 33% of the team's targets, 34% of receptions, 38% of receiving yards, and 20% of receiving touchdowns. He especially stepped up in Week 2, catching 10 of 13 targets for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
DeVonta Smith wiiiide open for a TD 🦅
PHIvsTEN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/H0pDJCagPi— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
In Week 3, even with the Eagles offense struggling on the road in Chicago, he caught six of his eight targets for 65 yards. He did most of his work in the first half of that game, but only had one catch in the second half.
He first dealt with a hamstring injury back in August before the season began, and he was limited in practice leading up to that Week 3 contest with the Bears. After the game, the issue was worse, and he missed practice all week leading up to Week 4's matchup with the Rams.
Reports came out that his hamstring issue could even be a multi-week issue, which means his absence could extend into Week 5 against the Jaguars.
DeVonta Smith could miss multiple games
https://t.co/odXNVVMcoN
— RotoBaller (@RotoBaller) October 2, 2026
The game against Jacksonville is in London, so the travel could make it tricky to know Smith's status if the Eagles take it right up to game time. If he doesn't travel with the team, it will be obvious that he's out another week.
The good news is that it doesn't look like the Eagles expect this to be an injury that will cost Smith a big chunk of the season. He hasn't been placed on IR, which would seem to indicate that he'll return within four weeks. The team's bye week isn't until Week 10, so that won't impact the decision unless he suffers a further setback.
Pay close attention to Smith's practice report this week to see if he'll be able to return in Week 5.
DeVonta Smith Fantasy Football Outlook
When he's been healthy, Smith has been very productive. He has stepped in as the top option at receiver and gotten plenty of targets and catches, including work in the red zone with chances in the end zone.
He will certainly be a WR2 with WR1 upside in all formats when he returns, but there are more questions around who the Eagles will look to while he is out. Smith's absence opened the door for Darius Cooper to have a big two-touchdown week against the Rams, although he only had three catches. Cooper led the team in targets and receptions without Smith, while Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon each had three catches as well.
Cooper could be an interesting option if he continues to get more time while Smith is out, and Wicks and Lemon also bring boom-or-bust upside if work is available.
Darius Cooper Benefits From Increased Role https://t.co/yMoCQWIqQv
— RotoBaller (@RotoBaller) October 5, 2026
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Darius Cooper, Makai Lemon. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 5 for DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Darius Cooper, Makai Lemon:
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