Ryan Kerrigan said goodbye to the Washington Football Team and will join a division rival.
Washington's all-time sack leader, with 95.5 in a decade with the club, announced Monday he's signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. The team made the move official soon after, agreeing to terms with Kerrigan on a one-year deal.
The former first-round pick said goodbye to the only club he's known in his pro career early Monday morning before announcing his new destination.
"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," Kerrigan wrote. "I hope you had as much fun watching me as I did playing for you. Thank you, Washington, for everything."
Washington reciprocated the love.
The 16th overall pick in 2011, Kerrigan instantly became an impact starter and franchise cornerstone in Washington. His 95.5 career sacks are the most in franchise history, passing Dexter Manley's 91 in 2020.
After starting every game in which he played for his first nine seasons, Kerrigan became a rotational player in Washington last year under Ron Rivera. He started just one of 16 games played and participated in fewer than half his standard snaps, but still generated 5.5 sacks, tied for his career low. The writing was on the wall that Washington, loaded along the line with younger players, would be moving on.
Despite seeing his reps slashed, Kerrigan displayed he can still be productive in limited snaps and should be a perfect complement in Philly. The 32-year-old joins an Eagles edge group headlined by Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman loves stacking strength on strength, and adding a veteran who has upside in a rotational role serves to provide depth to the might of Philly's D.
