The Eagles spent the offseason building depth with an eye for value, and Joshua Weru fits right into that approach.
Philadelphia’s front office has leaned hard into finding talent without blowing up the budget, with Jonathan Greenard standing out as the major exception. The biggest free-agent move was cornerback Riq Woolen, who got $12 million for one season, and that deal already looks like a strong one. In the draft, the Eagles kept swinging on upside, including seventh-round pick Uar Bernard, another player with no American football background but plenty of potential.
Weru is cut from that same cloth, only with a different path to the NFL. He arrives with zero football experience, but his athletic profile jumps off the page. At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds, he turned heads with a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the HBCU Combine/International Player Pathway Pro Day.
His route also echoes one of the Eagles’ most unusual success stories. Like Jordan Mailata, Weru came to football after playing rugby - in his case, for the Kenya national team. That kind of background gives him the kind of raw tools that can intrigue a coaching staff, especially with Vic Fangio in charge of the defense.
Fangio could get creative with him if the early flashes are there. Edge rusher is the most likely landing spot, but Weru could also see time at inside linebacker and in other roles because of his versatility and athleticism.
Still, the Eagles’ 53-man roster is a long shot for him right now. The expectation is that 2026 will be a development year, the kind of season where he learns the game and tries to catch up fast. Even so, he’s already the sort of player other teams will keep tabs on.
Before Philadelphia signed him as an undrafted free agent, three other teams were reportedly in the mix: the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos. That matters, because if Weru lands on the Eagles’ practice squad after training camp, one of those teams could step in and claim him for its active roster.
For now, Weru is one of the more intriguing names to watch when camp opens. He may be brand new to football, but the league clearly sees enough in him to believe there’s something there - whether that payoff comes in Philadelphia or somewhere else.
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The exchange with Baker Mayfield ended up getting even more attention when it surfaced on Netflixs Quarterbacks, where Mayfield acknowledged he did not really know Mitchells game before the moment got heated. For the Eagles, it was another reminder that Mitchell is starting to earn notice the hard way, through matchups that turn personal and production that keeps showing up on the stat sheet. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Face A Tough Call On Intriguing Rookie Uar Bernard
Uar Bernard has quietly become one of the more interesting roster puzzles in Eagles camp as the preseason nears. The seventh-round pick, brought in through the NFL's International Pathway Program, is the kind of developmental player Philadelphia has shown a willingness to keep around, especially when there is real upside attached to the long view.
The problem is the numbers game around him. Zach Berman notes the Eagles are carrying enough quarterback depth that keeping Bernard on the active roster is not simple, but exposing him to the practice squad could leave him vulnerable to being taken by another team for a 53-man spot. Philadelphia has found ways before to hang on to developmental projects, and Bernard now sits at the intersection of that history and a tricky roster squeeze. [Read more 🡒]