According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Philadelphia Eagles are signing veteran DE Ogbo Okoronkwo. The move comes on the same day that the Super Bowl champions open their Training Camp program ahead of their 2025 campaign.
Eagles sign Ogbo Okoronkwo
The signing also comes a few months after it was reported by Jordan Schultz that the Cleveland Browns were potentially shopping the 30-year-old pass rusher.
Okoronkwo started out his career with the Rams after being drafted in the 5th round back in 2018. in the 6 seasons that followed, he’s appeared in 80 games, registering 17 sacks, 132 tackles, 31 TFL, and 38 quarterback hits. 7.5 of those sacks, as Schultz mentioned, have come in the last two years as a member of the Browns defense.
A prove-it year with the Texans in 2022 saw the Oklahoma product put up a career-high 5 sacks, playing his way into Cleveland. But after the Browns signed Joe Tryon-Shoyinka this past offseason to an already stacked defensive front, it looked as if the writing was on the wall. Bringing in in Mason Graham at DT with the 5th overall pick signified a push to get younger at a pretty deep positional group.
The Eagles do still have a few question marks at the EDGE position. Bryce Huff‘s departure doesn’t figure to be a huge loss thanks to the breakout of Nolan Smith, but behind the prized Georgia graduate only sits the likes of Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche. Second-year Jalyx Hunt is the wildcard of the group, but if an injury were to strike any of those three, then the depth behind is minimal.
Howie Roseman was able to poach a proven veteran to fill that gap as he’s done so many times before. Chris Long, Timmy Jernigan, Michael Bennett, are all examples of players signed at the latter stages of their career who would go on to have sizable impacts before the next generation of pass-rusher took the reins, and this move figures to fit that same mold.
Another Eagles underdog
The team also announced the signing of UFL athletic monster, DT Jacob Sykes, waiving both EDGE K.J Henry, and RB Lew Nichols to make way for the new arrivals.
Sykes, who originally committed to play at Harvard and was a First-Team All-Ivy League selection in 2021, transferred to UCLA in 2022 after playing two seasons with the Crimson. With the Bruins, he racked up 29 tackles and a sack.
The 25-year-old has a connection with Eagles’ defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, signing with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He did not see any playing time and was waived in late August. In February of 2024, he signed a contract with the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL and resigned in August of the same year. He recorded 19 tackles and two sacks in nine games last season.
The defensive tackle was invited to a workout with the team according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro and apparently impressed the team enough to earn a deal.
The Eagles currently have Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Ty Robinson as the four defensive tackles that are locks to be on the roster. Thomas Booker, Byron Young and Gabe Hall along with Sykes will all be competing for some type of role within the organization’s depth chart whether it’s on the 53-man roster or practice squad.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
