Late Friday night at around 10:41 pm, Georgia authorities had a dangerous situation at hand. A car on Interstate 16 was going at a dangerously high speed, allegedly clocking around 135 and 137 mph in a 70 mph zone. They ended up stopping the car before something worse happened, but the driver they found was someone the Philadelphia Eagles definitely did not want making offseason headlines.

The one behind the wheel was Nolan Smith Jr. According to the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office, he was then arrested on May 15 on the charges of speeding and reckless driving. 

However, Smith was released shortly after the arrest as he made bail after the bond, per the sheriff’s office, which also revealed that a future court date for Smith has been issued. The Eagles have not officially addressed the matter yet, but this is not a good situation for the 25-year-old. Because this isn’t the first time that he has found himself in trouble with the law.

Back in January 2022, Eagles linebacker faced similar charges during his college career with the Georgia Bulldogs. Smith was driving home from the Atlanta airport and clocked a speed of 89 miles per hour, which was 44 miles per hour over the limit, in a construction zone in Barrow County. 

“Smith was charged with speeding in a construction zone and driving on a suspended license,” the report about his arrest by Marc Weiszer said. “His license had been suspended since January 19, 2021. At the time of his arrest, Smith reportedly said that he was getting his license reinstated the next day.” These incidents have raised serious concerns about his judgment off the field for the Eagles.

Moreover, Smith now joins a group of players from the Bulldogs program who have had multiple incidents involving players cited for driving at excessive speed. Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter pleaded no contest in April 2023 to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing as a result of a January 2023 crash that resulted in the deaths of two people.

Similarly, in February 2026, Georgia linebackers Chris Cole and Darren Ikinnagbon were arrested on misdemeanor charges of speeding at maximum limits and other traffic-related charges. Athens-Clarke County police also charged Cole with misdemeanor reckless driving.

Georgia players, in fact, have had a long history of these driving violations, and over 25 driving-related arrests have been made since 2023. And some are drawing some serious criticism towards it. “This is absolutely absurd at this point,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote on his official X account following Smith’s arrest. And make no mistake, the league has been taking measures to curb these issue seriously. 

Nolan Smith could be facing more than just legal trouble

Take the look at Rashee Rice, who was involved in a high speed multi vehicle crash in Dallas while driving a Lamborghini Urus at 119 mph. Prosecutors said Rice made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” before striking other vehicles and then leaving the scene on foot. Even though no one was killed, the NFL still handed him a six game suspension for violating the league’s Personal Conduct Policy because of the dangerous nature of the incident. And that’s where things become uncomfortable for Philadelphia.

You see Rice was apparently driving at 119 mph. Smith meanwhile was at 135 and 137 mph which is almost double the speed limit and faster significantly to the speed related to the Rice suspension. Surely the two situations are obviously different, the league has already shown it is willing to discipline players involved in extreme reckless-driving cases.

Also just earlier this week, Rice was ordered to serve 30 days in jail as part of the probation terms tied to his original plea agreement. The timing is expected to force him to miss part of the Chiefs’ offseason program. So, if the NFL views Smith’s case through the same lens, then the Eagles may have to prepare for a possible league punishment too. And this is the last thing they needed as a payback from Smith.

The Eagles believed Nolan Smith was turning the corner

Despite the arrest and drama that happened in 2022, the Eagles drafted the 25-year-old in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He was part of the dominant Georgia defense, including Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, and Jordan Davis, who were all picked by Philadelphia. Smith recorded 6.5 regular-season sacks in 2024 before clocking four more in the playoffs as he played a crucial role in the Eagles’ Super Bowl run.

In 45 career regular-season games (22 starts), Smith has 83 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 64 QB pressures, 25 QB hits, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. In six postseason games, Smith has added another 22 tackles, 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, 20 QB pressures, and seven QB hits. Last season, he recorded 31 total tackles (15 solo), 3.0 sacks, and one forced fumble in 12 regular-season games.

Despite the dip in production and an injury-marred season, the Eagles organization picked up his fully guaranteed fifth-year option, worth $13.8 million, earlier this offseason. However, with his arrest, Nolan Smith Jr.’s future with the franchise appears to be under a cloud of doubt, especially since this is his second arrest for driving-related issues.