Kasim Edebali (born August 17, 1989) is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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 (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

Early years

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

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and played for the

Hamburg Huskies The Hamburg Huskies are an American football team in Hamburg, Germany. The club's greatest success came in 2014 when it won the northern division of the German Football League 2 and earned promotion to the German Football League. History The club ...

. At age 18, he was recruited to play college football in

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through t ...

, where he attended

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

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 many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

, 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 Subdivisi ...

, 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 ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

third-team honors from the media. Edebali was a co-captain his senior year.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

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 franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. 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 Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. 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 that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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

Post NFL

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 sports#American football, professional American football sports league, league. The league (as of the 2023 season) consists of 17 teams located in Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, Italy, S ...

, 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 people of Turkish descent German people 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 European League of Football players