Penn State’s 2021 transfer success story is now continuing its NFL chapter.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles dealt former Penn State edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie to the Cincinnati Bengals for a 2027 sixth-round pick as the trade deadline approached, via NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
Ebiketie, a Cameroon native who arrived in the U.S. as a teenager and starred at Albert Einstein High School in Maryland, spent four seasons at Temple before transferring to Happy Valley for his final year of eligibility.
In one season with the Nittany Lions, he delivered a breakout campaign that put him firmly on NFL radars: 62 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two blocked kicks across 12 games.
Those numbers ranked him among the Big Ten’s top edge defenders—second in tackles for loss and third in sacks—and earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors from both coaches and media, plus second-team All-American recognition from multiple outlets.
The performance turned a productive but under-the-radar Temple career into a second-round NFL Draft selection (38th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
After four seasons in Atlanta that produced 16.5 career sacks, Ebiketie signed a one-year deal with the Eagles in free agency this past offseason.
Through nine games with Philadelphia he recorded 25 tackles and two quarterback hits while playing roughly 48 percent of defensive snaps, primarily as a rotational piece.
With the Eagles at 2-7 and actively reshaping their roster—having already moved other veterans—the deal allowed Philadelphia to recoup a late-round pick while clearing space in a crowded edge room.
For the Bengals (6-2 and tied atop the AFC North), Ebiketie adds veteran depth behind a pass-rush group dealing with injuries, including rookie Cashius Howell on injured reserve.
Cincinnati had shown interest in him during the free-agency window and circled back at the deadline for a low-cost addition that can contribute immediately on a contending roster.
From a Penn State perspective, the move underscores the program’s recent track record of developing transfers into NFL contributors.
Ebiketie’s single season in navy and white remains a textbook example of immediate impact: he stepped into a depleted defensive line and produced at a level that elevated both his own stock and the Nittany Lions’ reputation for defensive talent development.
Now in Cincinnati, the former first-team All-Big Ten edge will look to recapture the disruption that defined his Happy Valley year as the Bengals push for a playoff berth.
