Nick Sirianni
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USA Today's Ayrton Ostly named the Philadelphia Eagles a potential trade landing spot for Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard.
Throughout free agency and even extending to the NFL draft, a lot of the industry’s coverage is from a purely analytical, team-building perspective. Player A goes to a new team, makes them better. The team that lost them gets worse. And that makes sense, but it can sometimes be easy to gloss over the more human stories in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of those with one of their latest free agent signings.
Don’t forget, these are real people who have spent most of their lives working hard to achieve their dreams of playing in the NFL. They have families, hometowns. Incredible stories of overcoming adversity and achieving the unthinkable — or even just cool connections that make their new surroundings that much more memorable.
The Eagles’ latest pass rusher has one of those to share.
New Philadelphia Eagles Pass Rusher Shares ‘Special’ Story of Becoming an Eagles Fan
Arnold Ebiketie
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 20: Arnold Ebiketie #47 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts after a sack during the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
An under-the-radar signing for the Eagles this cycle was former Falcons ED Arnold Ebiketie. Philadelphia signed the former Atlanta edge rusher to a one-year deal, hoping to add some depth to their rotation of pass rushers, a group that didn’t perform up to expectations last season.
At his introductory press conference, Ebiketie shared a heartwarming story about when he was a freshman at Temple living in Philadelphia, how he connected to the city and to the Eagles.
“I became an Eagles fan, and I can tell you exactly when that happened,” Ebiketie said on Monday. “I remember in 2017, I was a freshman at Temple. And that was — if I’m not mistaken, that’s the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl. And we all know how this city gets after [bringing] a Super Bowl here to Philly. I remember being a young kid at Temple walking all the way down from Cecil B. Moore to Broad Street and everything. And if I recall, that’s exactly when I became an Eagles fan. Partially. Just seeing the joy everybody had in the street and everything. So I think it was a pretty special moment for me back then.”
A second-round pick out of Penn State by the Falcons in 2022, Ebiketie has a total of 129 tackles, 16 sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and six passes defensed in his four-year NFL career. After finishing out his rookie contract in Atlanta, he now joins the Eagles.
The Philadelphia Eagles Still Need More at Pass Rusher
Signing Ebiketie is a good start, but he’s a depth piece and not expected to be a star off the edge. After losing Jaelan Phillips in free agency, the Eagles don’t have a lot in the tank at edge defender beyond Nolan Smith.
So Philadelphia needs more, and the draft is full of quality edge rushers to choose from. The Eagles have pick No. 23 in the first round, and they could be in range for players like Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, and others.