Kasim Edebali (born August 17, 1989) is a German-American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Edebali is Cameron Jordan's brother-in-law.

Early life

Edebali, the son of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Stradford, and Turkish mother, Nesrin Edebali, grew up in

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and played for the Hamburg Huskies. At age 18, he was recruited to play college football in Meriden, New Hampshire, where he attended Kimball Union Academy as part of the USA Football International Student Program, and played high school football for two years. He attended

where he redshirted his Freshman year and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Communications and Germanic studies in May 2013. As a defensive end for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, he was a co-captain and earned All-ACC second-team honors as a senior.

College career

Edebali played 49 games for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

, recording 166 tackles (88 solo), 11 sacks, 24.5 tackles for a loss, 15 pass defenses, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. As a senior, started all 13 games, recording 67 tackles (36 solo), 9.5 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and five passes defensed and was named All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team by the league’s coaches as well as All- ACC third-team honors from the media. Edebali was a co-captain his senior year.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints (first stint)

On May 12, 2014, the

signed Edebali as an undrafted free agent. He earned a spot on the roster based on his pass-rushing and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

abilities during preseason. Edebali earned his first two career tackles against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

on September 28, 2014. On October 27, 2014, Edebali notched his first two sacks along with a forced fumble in the Saints' victory against the Green Bay Packers. Edebali finished his rookie season with the New Orleans Saints recording a total of 22 tackles (15 solo). He also recorded two sacks, and one forced fumble.

Denver Broncos

On March 13, 2017, Edebali signed a one-year contract with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He was waived by the Broncos on November 14, 2017.

Detroit Lions

On November 15, 2017, Edebali was claimed off waivers by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was waived by the Lions on December 13, 2017.

Los Angeles Rams

On December 20, 2017, Edebali signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, but was released a week later.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

On December 28, 2017, Edebali was claimed off waivers by the Saints.

Chicago Bears

On June 7, 2018, Edebali signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 20, 2018, Edebali was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 6, 2019, Edebali was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

Oakland Raiders

On October 22, 2019, Edebali was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, but was released eight days later.

Career accomplishments

With 8.0 total career sacks Edebali is the all time German sacks leader in the NFL, topping former

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

defensive end and first round draft pick Bjoern Werner by 1.5 sacks.

Hamburg Sea Devils

In 2021, the Hamburg Sea Devils (named after the mostly unrelated NFL-Europe team) franchise of the new

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

, a venture founded by fellow Hamburgian and personal friend of Kasim Edebali Patrick Esume announced that Edebali would be playing for them in the upcoming 2021 ELF season. Edebali extended his contract for another year with the Sea Devils on March 24, 2022.

References

External links

*
New Orleans Saints bioKasim Edebali profile, CBS Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edebali, Kasim 1989 births Living people American football linebackers American people of German descent American sportspeople of Turkish descent German sportspeople of Turkish descent German players of American football Boston College Eagles football players New Orleans Saints players Denver Broncos players Detroit Lions players Los Angeles Rams players Chicago Bears players Cincinnati Bengals players Philadelphia Eagles players Oakland Raiders players Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) players