Julian Okwara signs one-year deal with Philadelphia Eagles

After spending the last four years with the Detroit Lions, outside linebacker Julian Okwara has found a new home in the NFL. On Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported his new deal with the Philadelphia Eagles is for one-year and worth up to $2.675 million.

Coming out of Notre Dame, Okwara was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. In 38 games played so far, he’s tallied 54 tackles, nine sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery. This season, he recorded two sacks in nine games for the Lions.

The Eagles started out as one of the hottest teams in the National Football League this year with a 10-1 record. But they collapsed in a big way down the stretch, finishing with an 11-6 overall record in the regular season. That was good enough for second place in the NFC East, but they still got whipped by the Tampa Bay Bucs (32-9) in the NFC Wild Card Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs.

His senior season at Notre Dame, Okwara started all nine games before suffering a season-ending injury at Duke. He finished with 18 tackles, six tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries, four sacks, and a fumble recovery. His most dominant performance came against the Virginia Cavaliers, which he racked up three sacks and forced two fumbles.

As a junior, Okwara tallied 38 tackles, racking up 12.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and 21 quarterback hurries. He finished leading the team in tackles for loss that year and tied for first in sacks. In 2017 as a sophomore, he tallied 10 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception.

As a freshman, Okwara became one of just nine true freshmen that played in at least eight games for the Fighting Irish, recording four tackles in 2016.

Growing up, Okwara actually moved to the United States from Nigeria in the third grade. He played his high school football for Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, North Carolina). The Nigerian was selected to play in the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl. As a senior, he racked up 84 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and eight quarterback hurries in 12 games. He also tacked on four forced fumbles, one pass defended, and one blocked field goal.

In the 2016 recruiting class, Okwara was rated as the No. 307 overall player in the nation and a four-star prospect, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.