Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was teammates and good friends with Henry Ruggs while the two played together with Alabama Football. This is why the Eagles excused Smith from training camp so he could attend Ruggs' sentencing for killing a woman while drunk driving in 2021, reports ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith.

“My heart breaks for everybody involved, the family of the young lady that lost her life. It was rough at the beginning of the week. But just coming in every day, being with the guys, they helped me out a lot. It was tough, but eventually the guys helped me get through it. Everybody lifted me up. The whole team.”

This is what DeVonta Smith said in November of 2021 after the news came out that his good friend Henry Ruggs had committed such a tragic act. Smith did not excuse Ruggs for what he did, but he did say that Ruggs is like a brother to him and he will always have his back no matter what.

Henry Ruggs was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for killing Tina Tintor while DeVonta Smith watched from the courtroom. It is obviously a very sad incident overall, and the hope is that some positive growth comes out of the entire ordeal.

Smith will return to Eagles training camp soon and try to get back focused on the regular season. Still, the Eagles will probably give him all the time that he needs given how close he and Ruggs are and the monumental nature of the sentencing.