Joshua Weru’s path from English rugby to Eagles highlighted ahead of London game
The Philadelphia Eagles will carry a player with deep ties to England when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, PhiladelphiaEagles.com reported. Outside linebacker Joshua Weru moved from Kenya to England at 14 to pursue rugby and credited his time in English rugby academies and boarding schools with shaping his athletic development. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Weru’s favorite Premier League team, adding a personal connection to the London trip.
Weru spent his youth with the Northampton Saints academy and earned a first-team contract in 2022. He left England later that year to pursue a spot on the Kenyan national rugby team and earned his first cap in November, scoring in his debut against the United States in a 2023 World Cup qualification match. While in England he attended two boarding schools, one near Milton Keynes and another in the town of Rugby, experiences he said exposed him to passionate fan cultures.
Weru entered the NFL’s International Player Program in 2025 and signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent after the team selected Uar Bernard in the seventh round of the 2026 draft. He went through the International Pathway Program with Bernard before joining Philadelphia. PhiladelphiaEagles.com noted Weru measured 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds and posted a 4.45 40-yard dash, a 41.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-2 broad jump ahead of the draft.
Weru made headlines in the second week of the preseason, recording a sack after flying off the edge, beating Patriots tackle Dametrious Crownover on a fake inside. The play showcased his speed and edge burst on a professional field. After being waived as part of the Eagles’ final roster cuts, Weru and Bernard joined the team’s practice squad.
Weru said former Northampton winger Christian Wade was an early inspiration and that watching Wade’s move to American football planted the idea of switching sports. Wade took part in the NFL’s International Pathway Program and played three seasons for the Buffalo Bills, a transition Weru said he followed as a teenager. Weru added that English sporting fans are “super passionate” and that the week-to-week stakes of the Premier League felt similar to the NFL, a comparison that makes the London game meaningful to him.
NFL Sports Blog Take
Weru brings an uncommon athletic profile and an international storyline as a practice-squad edge player for the Eagles. His elite testing numbers and a preseason sack after beating Dametrious Crownover point to measurable upside. He offers low-risk depth who could contribute on special teams or emerge as a situational pass rusher if injuries or matchups create opportunity.