The Philadelphia Eagles have been perennial NFC contenders throughout the past decade, and a big reason for that success has been their work in free agency. Philadelphia hasn’t made a lot of big splashes in recent years, but they’ve done a good job of mining talent, most notably with linebacker Zack Baun and guard Mekhi Becton during their Super Bowl season in 2025.
While the Eagles have had success, they are hardly perfect, especially regarding their pass rush. Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche went belly up after joining the Eagles during last year’s free agency period, and Philadelphia was aggressive to fix the problem with Jaelan Phillips signing with the Carolina Panthers.
It all leads to what could be Philadelphia’s worst free-agent signing of this offseason, as they gave Arnold Ebiketie a one-year contract worth up to $7.3 million. While it’s a move that has upside, it’s more likely to backfire and make things more difficult for Philadelphia in 2026.
Eagles Pass Rush Takes Massive Hit Despite Arnold Ebiketie’s Arrival
Looking at Ebiketie’s resume, it’s easy to see why the Eagles were interested in him.
A former second-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons, Ebiketie has logged 16.5 sacks during his four-year career and had six sacks in back-to-back seasons during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. His 2025 performance was also better than the two sacks he picked up a year ago, ranking 17th among qualifying edge rushers with a 21.4% win rate on 86 pass-rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
All of that is positive for the Eagles, but it also comes with extreme risks. While Ebiketie was effective, the Falcons never trusted him to be more than a rotational pass rusher with a career high of 543 snaps. His performance against the run is a concern with a career 12.5% missed-tackle rate, and he hasn’t provided much value outside of getting to the quarterback.
This makes Ebiketie a low-risk, high-reward player, and if the Eagles gave him a lottery ticket contract, the signing may look a lot better. But that’s not what happened. Ebiketie’s contract includes $4.3 million guaranteed, according to Spotrac, and they let a much more talented pass-rusher walk out the door in Phillips.
Phillips carries his own risks due to his injury history, and his four-year, $120 million contract was too much to stomach as Jalen Carter, Cooper DeJean, and Quinyon Mitchell are due contract extensions in the next couple of years. Phillips hinted that while the Eagles wanted him back, it was a half-hearted attempt to keep him as the Carolina Panthers came in with a better offer.
Similar lottery tickets have worked before, and the New England Patriots cashed in when K’Lavon Chaisson was signed to a similar contract this time a year ago and watched him become a key piece of their run to a Super Bowl. On the flip side, Ebiketie has been healthy for most of his career and hasn’t proven himself to be worthy of the role the Eagles are handing to him.
If it pays off like general manager Howie Roseman’s bargain signings a few years ago, he’ll look like a genius. But if it turns out the same as Ojulari and Uche did last year, it’ll show that nothing has been learned, and the Eagles will be left with the same problem they had a year ago.