Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell has been worrying the fan base after a second straight offseason of him dealing with injuries.
During this offseason, Campbell had surgery on one of his shoulders after having it on the other side last year, before the season began. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked about how Campbell was progressing, and while he wasn't as optimistic about a return happening at OTAs, Fangio did seem confident about it later down the road.
“He’ll be ready for training camp," Fangio said via Eagles reporter Anthony DiBona.
Jihaad Campbell looks poised to be back for Eagles training camp
Last season in his first year in the NFL, Campbell had 80 tackles, three pass deflections, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 17 games. He was named to the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie team for 2025 after stepping up early in the season for the injured Nakobe Dean.
With Dean now with the Las Vegas Raiders, Campbell's time has arrived to be a full-time starter with Zack Baun in the middle. Behind Campbell will be Jeremiah Trotter and Smael Mondon Jr., but this will be Campbell's show.
The skills are already there for Campbell as he shows good promise for the future. While many thought he might transition to edge rusher eventually, he has seemed to find his footing in the middle and might end up eventually replacing Baun as the top guy if the Eagles decide to move on from him.
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Fangio will expect big things from Campbell heading into the 2026 season, as the hope is that he will be healthy enough to last the season and be the defensive threat fans hoped for when they selected him in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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