March 16, 2026
Brett Davis/Imagn Images
Arnold Ebiketie posted six sacks in consecutive seasons with the Falcons in 2023 and 2024. The Eagles are hoping the edge rusher can tap back into that level and maybe more.
When Arnold Ebiketie put pen to paper on his one-year contract, and then sat down for his video call with the Philadelphia media on Monday, the idea of realizing the best possible version of himself as a person and a football player was a frequently stated goal for the edge rusher.
It was his mission through college at Philadelphia's own Temple University, and then at Penn State, and it carried on into the pros when the Atlanta Falcons made him a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He tapped into it in bursts with Atlanta, mainly in 2023 and 2024, when he posted back-to-back seasons of 6.0 sacks.
The Falcons' depth chart, though, rapidly started to phase him out as he approached free agency.
So, at age 27, Ebiketie is hoping to take that next step into a full breakout with the Eagles in 2026, while the organization, which got a bit thin at the edge with the free-agent departure of Jaelan Phillips to Carolina, is taking the dice roll that he has it in him.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's system, after all, has built a reputation for lesser-heralded players finding themselves, along with his knack for identifying what his personnel's strengths really are.
So maybe there might be more Ebiketie than what he produced in Atlanta.
"Obviously, it goes without saying, Vic's system," Ebiketie immediately noted when asked what made the Eagles feel like the right fit. "Just seeing over the past couple years, we know the Eagles have been notorious for having a great defense. I feel like that's something I always want to be a part of."
"And just coming out here and learning from those guys, the goal is always to be the best version of yourself you can possibly be," Ebiketie continued. "So I felt like it was a great fit for me to come out here."
It's not a perfect science, though, which means no guarantees.
For every Zach Baun, an external find who became a near-irreplaceable part of the defense at linebacker, or a Jalyx Hunt or Moro Ojomo, homegrown names who steadily took on key roles at the edge or within the trenches, there's a Josh Uche or Azeez Ojulari, two free-agent finds for the pass rush who never stuck.
But general manager Howie Roseman is taking a relatively low-cost gamble that he made another diamond in the rough find with Ebiketie. For a reported max payday of $7.3 million this coming season, and with a projected edge rush depth chart that consists of just him, Hunt, and Nolan Smith for right now (and maybe veteran Brandon Graham if he does come back for one more year), the payoff could be huge for a team that still has a lot of holes to address elsewhere.
"The end goal is to be the best version of myself," Ebiketie reiterated. "That's who I intend to be, and that's why I intend to put the work in in order for me to be the best version of myself, to be as complete of a player as I possibly can."
While the Eagles take the bet that there's a lot more to that player.
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