Ryan Kerrigan announced via Instagram he has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. The four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher spent 10 seasons with the Washington Football Team.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Kerrigan drew most interest from the Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. However, he opted to stay within the NFC East and play for Washington’s division rival. In Philadelphia, he will get to face his former team twice during the 2021 season.
Kerrigan took to Instagram late Sunday night to say goodbye to Washington after playing a decade with the Burgundy and Gold.
“I’ll never be able to sum up what these past 10 years have meant to me in an Instagram post, but what I can say is that they have been some of the best of my life. I hope you had as much fun watching me as I did playing for you. Thank you, Washington, for everything,” Kerrigan wrote.
Washington selected Kerrigan in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He started 139 straight games never missing a start through his first eight seasons before he suffered a concussion in 2019 that ended the streak.
In Washington, he became the franchise’s all-time sack leader with 95.5 sacks, surpassing Dexter Manley last season. But last season was the beginning of the end for Kerrigan in Washington. He played a career-low 397 defensive snaps as he was relegated to a reserve behind 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young and 2019 first-round draft pick Montez Sweat on the edge.
Kerrigan expressed his desire to start once again following Washington’s playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January. With Young and Sweat cemented as the future defensive ends of Washington, Kerrigan’s time with Washington was bound to be over.
Now, he joins a rebuilding Eagles team with first year head coach Nick Sirianni and first-time defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Kerrigan has appeared in 156 games through 10 seasons. In addition to his 95.5 sacks, he has 26 forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, and three interceptions which he returned each for a touchdown.
