The Philadelphia Eagles added a defensive end on Tuesday Morning, and he’s a bit unknown. Here are three quick thoughts following the addition of Kasim Edebali.
One thing’s certain, there may not be an NFL fan base who’s more tired of hearing ‘MCL’ or ‘ACL’ then that of the Philadelphia Eagles. This time, it’s the latter. It didn’t look good when he was carted off of the field on Sunday. Now, we have definite answers. Defensive end Joe Ostman has torn his ACL and won’t be available for the Eagles in 2019. Enter Kasim Edebali.
The Eagles signed the German-born defensive end early on Tuesday Morning. The news was gobbled up by anyone with a smart phone or logged into Twitter.
Take a look.
Roster Move: #Eagles have signed DE Kasim Edebali and placed DE Joe Ostman (knee) on Injured Reserve.#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/2jkb6Sblx4
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 6, 2019
Just like that, Ostman’s amazing training camp has ended. We’ll have to wait to see him next year, and now all eyes are on the new six-foot-two, 253-pound defensive end. Here are three initial thoughts following the move.
1. Does this mean that Philly will now carry five defensive ends into the regular season?
Joe Ostman was going to make this team. That’s a fact. That may have given Philly six defensive ends in the regular season rotation, seeing as how Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Shareef Miller, Vinny Curry, and Josh Sweat all figure to make the roster.
That means Daeshon Hall and Edebali are both battling for the sixth spot on the depth chart, but wait. Might Philly carry five defensive ends now? On paper, it just seems like the last two guys have a long road to make this team. That isn’t meant to be disrespectful. It just is waht it is.
2. Who is this guy?
This is Edebali’s eighth team in just six seasons of NFL football. That’s a lot of movement. Here’s the bright side. Teams think enough of him to bring him on the roster. He just isn’t finding a long-term home. Could he erase all of that here in Philly?
3. Let’s look at some of his numbers.
You won’t get much from his stats at the pro level (55 tackles, eight sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery), so let’s go to some college numbers.
Edebali racked up 166 tackles (88 were solo, 24.5 resulted in a loss), 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 15 passes defensed in 49 games with the Boston College Eagles. After his senior season, he was named Second-Team All-ACC by the coaches and Third-Team All-ACC by the media.
So far, the switch hasn’t flipped in the NFL, but maybe this is his shot. Truth be told ladies and gents, on paper, this one is a bit of a head scratcher, but we all trust Eagles president and GM Howie Roseman by now. There must be a plan in here somewhere.