The Philadelphia Eagles continue to find value in moderately priced free agents with big upside — and their latest move might be their best move.
The Eagles were in desperate need of an edge rusher with the departure of Super Bowl hero Josh Sweat to the Arizona Cardinals on a 4-year, $76.4 million free agent contract. Now, they may have struck gold in landing New York Giants edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who signed a 1-year, $4 million contract with the Eagles on March 17.
From ESPN: “Free agent pass rusher Azeez Ojulari is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year, $4 million deal, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Monday. Ojulari had six sacks last season for the New York Giants in 11 games. He joins Joshua Uche as free agent pass rushers to join the Super Bowl champion Eagles, who lost defensive end Josh Sweat last week to the Arizona Cardinals. Ojulari was a second-round pick of the Giants out of the University of Georgia in the 2021 NFL draft. He had eight sacks in 17 games during a promising rookie year but has struggled to stay healthy ever since.”
Ojulari Has Dealt With Injury Issues Throughout Career
Ojulari played in 17 games as a rookie with 13 starts and 8.0 sacks — the only season of his pro career he’s played in every game. Since then, he’s been a study in unavailability. He missed 10 games in 2022 but still had 5.5 sacks and missed 6 games each in 2023 and 2024 and has 22.0 career sacks and 37 QB hits in 46 career games. In 2024 Ojulari had 6.0 sacks in 11 games with just 5 starts.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano had Ojulari pegged as a possible trade target through the 2024 season as the Giants struggled through the 2024 season and did so with a surplus of edge rushers.
“The Giants have overhauled their pass rush and have built it around Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns (as well as Dexter Lawrence II on the interior),” Graziano wrote. “Ojulari is making just $1.58 million in the final year of his contract and could benefit from a larger role elsewhere ahead of free agency.”
The Giants selected Thibodeaux at No. 5 overall in the 2022 NFL draft. They traded for Burns in March 2024 and signed him to a 5-year, $141 million contract extension. Ojulari just played out the final season of his 4-year, $6.7 million rookie contract.
Producing for Eagles Could Mean Big Money for Ojulari
If Ojulari can lock it in and stay healthy for 2025, it could mean a massive payday in 2026.
Sweat played 2024 on a 1-year, $10 million contract and led the Eagles with 8.5 sacks during the regular season before cashing in with the Cardinals and former Eagles defensive coordinator and current Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon.
It’s not hard to envision Ojulari doing the same thing in 2025 for the Eagles, who don’t have an Alpha Dog in that position group in 2025. Bryce Huff was a bust in 2024 after signing a $51 million free agent contract, Nolan Smith is coming off a torn triceps tendon in the Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs and second-year edge rusher Jalyx Hunt is a largely unproven commodity.
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