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Eagles sign outside linebacker Julian Okwara to help pass rushing effort

The 6-foot-4, 239-pound edge rusher spent the last four seasons with the Lions and played in a total of 38 games.

The Eagles signed former Detroit Lions linebacker Julian Okwara to buoy their pass rushing efforts.
The Eagles signed former Detroit Lions linebacker Julian Okwara to buoy their pass rushing efforts.Read morePeter Joneleit / AP

The Eagles have signed pass rusher Julian Okwara, the team announced on Wednesday.

Okwara, 26, was the Detroit Lions’ third-round pick, No. 67 overall, in the 2020 draft out of Notre Dame. The 6-foot-4, 239-pound edge rusher spent the last four seasons with the Lions and played in a total of 38 games in that span.

He finished the 2023 postseason on the Lions practice squad and was thus a free agent a week after their playoff exit following their NFC championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Okwara played nine games last season, posting two sacks and seven tackles.

Throughout his four-year career with the Lions, Okwara has dealt with a few significant injuries. In his rookie season, he suffered a right leg injury in Week 6 that caused him to miss the next nine games. He did not play in the final six games of the 2022 season and the first four of 2023 while on injured reserve with an elbow injury.

Okwara was born in London and raised in Nigeria, moving to the United States in elementary school. His older brother, Romeo, is an edge rusher for the Lions.