The Eagles added a new defender during free agency, OLB Arnold “AK” Ebiketie. He spoke to reporters when he was in Philadelphia this week to sign his new contract, and talked about how he made his decision, when he became an Eagles fan, and how Jordan Davis helped recruit him.
The newest edge rusher for the Eagles admitted that it was a hectic week as free agency got underway, especially considering his daughter decided to be born last Monday as the legal tampering window opened. Ultimately, he let his agent handle the situation.
“I had a couple things that I wanted them to focus on — the fit was a priority for me, and I felt like coming out of free agency that we got exactly what we wanted.”
As for why he felt like Philly was a good fit for him, he said it goes without saying that he was drawn to Vic Fangio’s system. The edge rusher said that over the past couple seasons, the Eagles have had one of the best defenses in the league, and that’s something he’s dreamt of being apart of.
“And, just coming out here and learning from those guys, and just the goal is always to be the best version of yourself you can possibly be, so I felt like it was a great fit for me to come out here.”
He went on to say that it meant a lot for him to come back to the city after playing college football at Temple and Penn State.
“I became an Eagles fan, and I can tell you exactly when that happened.
I remember 2017, I was a freshman at Temple, and that was, if I’m not mistaken, the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and we all know how this city gets after the Super Bowl here in Philly. And I remember being a young kid at Temple, walking down from Cecil B Moore [Ave] to Broad Street and everything, and I feel like, if I recall that’s exactly when I became an Eagles fan.“
AK said that he wasn’t worried about signing just a one-year deal because he knows the type of player he is, and it’s really about coming in and learning from the guys in the room and getting better every single day. He also explained that he does already have friends on the team, including Jordan Davis.
“In terms of people that I know well, Jordan Davis is kinda my guy, and I was on the phone with him for about 30 minutes before I decided to come to the Eagles. So, kind of spoke to him, kind of wanted to know the breakdown and how the defense looked in some of the things they did in the previous years. I would say he’s one of the persons I leaned on in this process.”
Davis told AK that the defense is a group that’s going to put the work in and play in sync, they’re going to stop the run and get after the quarterback. That all aligned with what AK was looking for, so it helped him make his decision.
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