Eagles reportedly sign pass rusher to one-year contract

Philadelphia moved quickly to reinforce its edge on Tuesday, agreeing to terms with hometown product Arnold Ebiketie on a one-year deal that can reach $7.3 million, $4.3 million of which is guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The signing comes less than a month after the club watched Jaelan Phillips depart in free agency, leaving a void on the outside that the front office has been scouring the market to fill.

Ebiketie, 27, brings a familiar résumé to the NovaCare Complex. The Cameroon-born defender began his college career at Temple before transferring to Penn State, parlaying a breakout senior season into the 38th overall selection of the 2022 draft by Atlanta. Across 67 career games—he has missed only one contest—Ebiketie has logged 16.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 41 quarterback hits and four forced fumbles. His seasonal high in sacks is six, a plateau he reached in both 2023 and 2024, though his production dipped to just two sacks last fall.

While the numbers do not place Ebiketie in the elite tier the Eagles explored earlier this offseason—Trey Hendricksen spurned Philadelphia for Baltimore, and trade talks for Jonathan Greenard never materialized—the organization is betting that untapped upside remains. At 6-foot-2 with nearly 34-inch arms, Ebiketie offers the length defensive coordinator Vic Fangio covors, and his pre-draft profile highlighted active hands and a pressure rate that scouts believed would translate. Questions persist about his ability to hold the edge against the run, but the Eagles plan to deploy him as part of a rotational group that presently features 2025 standout Jalyx Hunt, 2024 first-rounder Nolan Smith and special-teams maven Jose Ramirez. Veteran Brandon Graham, who reiterated last month he does not intend to retire, could also rejoin the room, and the 2026 draft is viewed internally as another avenue to add youth.

The structure of Ebiketie’s contract—short-term, mid-level guarantees—mirrors the prove-it deals Philadelphia has used successfully in recent seasons. If he can recapture the form that produced six sacks two years ago, the Eagles believe they have secured a complementary rusher without sacrificing long-term flexibility. If not, the front office has preserved both cap space and draft capital to address the position again next spring.

For now, the Birds exit the first wave of free agency with a familiar face added to the edge and plenty of questions still to answer about a pass rush that finished middle of the pack a year ago. Whether Ebiketie becomes a bargain or merely depth will determine how aggressively Howie Roseman attacks the draft board in late April.