Eagles add A.J. Epenesa to their edge rusher corps
Epenesa had spent his entire six-year NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, the team that drafted him in the second round, No. 54 overall in the 2020 draft out of Iowa. He posted 24 sacks in 91 games.
The Eagles are bolstering their edge rusher corps by signing six-year veteran A.J. Epenesa on Wednesday.
Epenesa, 27, had spent his entire NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, the team that drafted him in the second round, No. 54 overall in the 2020 draft out of Iowa. He became an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
According to ESPN, the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Epenesa was set to sign a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns in March. However, that deal reportedly fell through following his physical.
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Epenesa was mostly a rotational player throughout his career in Buffalo, making 19 starts (91 games total). He posted 24 sacks in that span, including back-to-back seasons of 6½ sacks each in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Epenesa played 47.1% of the defensive snaps through 16 games (two starts), notching 2½ sacks, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and two tackles for a loss.
Come training camp, Epenesa is set to have an opportunity to compete for a role in the edge rusher rotation behind Jonathan Greenard, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt.
The Eagles also signed 28-year-old guard Michael Jordan and released linebackers Isiah King and Chandler Martin. According to the transaction wire, the Eagles waived Martin with a failed physical designation.
Additionally, the Eagles released Za’Darius Smith from the reserve/retired list. Smith, 33, abruptly retired from the NFL in mid-October last year, roughly one month after he signed in Philadelphia. Smith’s release from the list indicates he could be seeking a return to the league.
Jeffrey Lurie has owned the Philadelphia Eagles, which he purchased in 1994, longer than his son, Julian, has been alive. But in recent years, the younger Lurie, heir to the franchise and now 31, has assumed a more pervasive and influential role in the organization. While the Eagles have made no secret about Julian’s increased involvement with the team, specifics about his role have been scant. In recent months, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane spoke to nearly two dozen sources on and off the record to gain a better understanding of not just who Julian Lurie is and what he does, but — most important of all — whether he’ll be ready to assume the reins as Eagles chairman and CEO, whenever the time comes. Jeff shares the biggest takeaways from his reporting with Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski in this companion episode to Jeff’s feature article about the Eagles' succession plan. Listen here.
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