Report: Eagles sign defensive end to their practice squad

Philadelphia’s adding more DL depth in wake of the Brandon Graham injury.

The Philadelphia Eagles are signing free agent defensive end K.J. Henry to their practice squad, according to a report from NFL insider Mike Garafolo.

Henry, who turns 26 in January, was originally selected by the Washington Commanders with a fifth-round pick (No. 137) in the 2023 NFL Draft. He played 282 defensive snaps in 10 games (three starts) as a rookie, logging 19 total tackles, four TFLs, two pass deflections, and 1.5 sacks.

There seemed to be some optimism about Henry’s outlook after the 2023 season. The following comes from a Hogs Haven article published back in June:

KJ Henry was drafted by the Commanders out of Clemson in the 5th round of last year’s draft. He was inactive for the first 8 weeks of his rookie season, but following the trades of Montez Sweat and Chase Young followed by the injury to Efe Obada, Henry became an increasingly integral part of Washington’s defense in its final 9 games.

As you can see, from Week 11 to Week 18, Henry started three games and played between 43% and 67% of the defensive snaps, finishing the season having played 41% of the defensive snaps for which he was active and available.

Arguably, his best performance may have been in Week 11 against the Giants when Efe Obada was injured on the opening drive. Henry finished that game with 4 tackles, 2 passes defended and 2 sacks in 37 defensive snaps. His other standout game came in Week 14 on the road against the Rams, when he had 4 solo tackles (5 total tackles; 1 tackle for loss) in 42 snaps.

A 5-year college player, Henry is a 25-year-old 2nd-year player who appears to be on the rise as a rotational defensive end. At 6’4” and 254 pounds, he is a fast and explosive player with a promising NFL future.

Reports indicate Henry had a good training camp. He posted one sack and two TFLs in the Commanders’ preseason games. Pro Football Focus credited Henry with 10 total pressures on just 51 pass rush snaps and graded him as their 13th-best edge defender from the preseason.

Despite this relative success, the Commanders waived Henry prior to the 2024 season. He was likely the victim of a regime change with Adam Peters and Dan Quinn taking over in Washington.

Henry was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals and was waived again but re-joined Cincy on their practice squad. He appeared in just two games, logging 11 defensive snaps.

The Dallas Cowboys then signed Henry off the Bengals’ practice squad in early October. He played 40 defensive snaps, logging one sack and one TFL. Dallas then waived him over this past weekend. Kinda weird that Henry keeps getting cut despite showing some signs of promise. Seems like his run defense might be an issue.

Now in Philly, Henry figures to provide the Eagles with more defensive end depth in the wake of Brandon Graham’s season-ending injury. The Eagles need to open a practice squad spot for Henry’s signing to be official. The team can open up a roster spot by putting Graham on injured reserve and then promoting a practice squad player to the 53.

Highlights:

Scouting report via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

Highly athletic edge defender with good size. Henry has upfield burst, but he tends to be a face-up rusher and will need to improve his hand usage for more effective corner turns. He can be dynamic when twisting and blitzing as a moveable piece around the defensive front and he does a nice job of setting up a buttery smooth inside rush that is often too quick for tackles. He can dart and disrupt as a one-gapper with his hand in the ground but has more trouble than expected in setting firm edges as a run defender. Henry’s strengths and weaknesses are well-defined, with the upside to become a starter.

Spider graph via Mockdraftable: