Edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie’s new role with the Eagles was years in the making
Ebiketie, signed as a free agent last week, was very familiar with the Eagles as a collegian at both Temple and Penn State.
A full-circle moment for Arnold Ebiketie — signing with the Eagles in free agency — began when he took a less circuitous route.
Ebiketie, who goes by A.K., was in his first year at Temple when the Eagles won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2017 season. As fans took to the Philadelphia streets (and light poles) to celebrate the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory, Ebiketie took his own trip from Cecil B. Moore Avenue down Broad Street.
“If I recall, that’s exactly when I became an Eagles fan, partially,” Ebiketie said at his introductory news conference on Monday. “Just seeing the joy everybody had in the street and everything.”
Ebiketie can call himself a full-fledged Eagles fan now. After spending the first four years of his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, the 27-year-old edge rusher joined the Eagles on a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $7.3 million ($4.3 million guaranteed).
Creating that full-circle moment was just one factor in Ebiketie’s decision to return to Pennsylvania, which was home to his college career at Temple (2017-20) and Penn State (2021) and his pre-draft top-30 visit with the Eagles in 2022. In fact, Ebiketie said that he was mostly hands-off during the process, letting his agents handle his free agency while he welcomed his newborn daughter last Monday.
Still, the Yaoundé, Cameroon native said his fit in his prospective defense was the most important consideration in choosing a new team.
From the outside, Ebiketie was aware of the defense’s dominance under Vic Fangio for his two seasons as defensive coordinator. To learn more about what to expect from the inside, Ebiketie said he spoke to the recently extended Jordan Davis, his 2022 draft classmate, for 30 minutes before making his decision.
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“He told me the obvious,” Ebiketie said. “Philadelphia Eagles defense, they’re going to put the work in. They’re going to play together in sync as a defense. They’re going to stop the run and have the opportunity to get after the quarterback. And that pretty much aligned with what I was looking for. That’s why I decided to come here.”
He also said the length of his new deal, whether it was just one year or multiple, wasn’t his main focus.
“I feel like I wanted to keep it football-based first, and did not mind a one-year deal, because I know what type of player I am,” Ebiketie said. “And I feel like the mindset I bring to the table is, how can I be the best version of myself? How can the Philadelphia Eagles get the best version of A.K. this upcoming year? It’s kind of my focus, and that’s my intent, to hit the field, put the work in, and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish this year.”
Ebiketie joins the Eagles defense after four up-and-down seasons with the Falcons. He was productive in 2023 and 2024, racking up six sacks in each season, then cooled off in 2025 as he fell down the depth chart.
He played just 35% of the defensive snaps last season and registered two sacks, although he had a 16.8% pass rush win rate (11th among edge defenders with at least 150 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus). Regardless, Ebiketie didn’t reminisce on his 2025 showing with any bitterness.
“I feel like as a whole, despite everything that happened, kind of made me a better player, because we have a big, competitive room, and it was just fun being out there and competing with those guys throughout the season,” Ebiketie said.
Come the start of organized team activities in the spring, Ebiketie will have an opportunity to show the Eagles how that improved player can make an impact on the defense. The edge rusher corps can use all of the reinforcements it can get, as Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt currently project as the top two players in the rotation in 2026.
This opportunity has been a long time coming for Ebiketie. He said Monday he’d hoped to be drafted by the Eagles after his top-30 pre-draft visit in 2022. That dream was delayed, not denied.
“Having the opportunity to be back in Philadelphia, playing at The Linc,” Ebiketie said. “I feel like it’s just something special. It was meant to be.”