The Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night signed free-agent linebacker Arnold Ebiketie to a one-year contract worth up to $7.3 million, including $4.3 million guaranteed, Damarius Bilbo of Klutch Sports, told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 27-year-old edge defender arrives after completing his rookie contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Ebiketie was selected by Atlanta with the 38th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft after playing at Penn State and Temple. Over four NFL seasons, he had 80 solo tackles, 49 assists, 16.5 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery in 67 games, including 12 starts, despite playing fewer than half of the Falcons' defensive snaps.
After posting 2.5 sacks as a rookie in 2022, his production jumped over the next two seasons. He started six games in 2023 and finished with six sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 41 tackles. The following season, although he started only two games, he matched his sack and quarterback hit numbers while also piling up 64 tackles, including 26 solo stops, leading Atlanta in sacks.
Ebiketie's statistical output dipped in 2025, as he managed just two sacks and six quarterback hits. However, that was largely due to him being part of a larger rotation rather than being the featured pass rusher for the Falcons. He ranked 10th in quarterback pressure rate at 16.4% among players with at least 150 pass-rush snaps, the best among Atlanta's edge defenders, according to Next Gen Stats. Pro Football Focus graded him 74.9 overall, ranking 28th out of 115 edge rushers, with a 73.4 pass-rush grade that ranked 30th league-wide.
With the Falcons, Ebiketie competed in a crowded edge rotation that included Leonard Floyd and 2025 draft picks Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., during a season when the team recorded a franchise-record 57 sacks.
He now joins an Eagles defense that lacked a true pass-rushing threat this past season, with no defender exceeding seven sacks, and will provide rotational support alongside Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt.
