Ealy latest to hop on Raiders’ defensive line turnstyle
ALAMEDA » Only one player in NFL history has recorded an interception and multiple sacks in the same Super Bowl.
That player had been unemployed since Sept. 1 until the Raiders signed him on Monday.
Kony Ealy, who tallied an interception, forced fumble and three sacks for the Carolina Panthers in a 24-10 Super Bowl loss to Peyton Manning’s Denver Bron- cos at Levi’s Stadium in 2016, is the latest to hop on the Raiders’ defensive end turnstyle.
He trotted off the practice field with assistant defensive line coach Marco Coleman almost 10 minutes after every other defender on Thursday, playing catch-up with his own short week of preparation but eager to give the Raiders a much-needed boost come Sunday against the Chargers.
Since his historic performance less than three years ago, Ealy has spent time with the Patriots, Jets, Cowboys and now Raiders. He hasn’t been able to replicate that Super Bowl night, or anything close to it, in any of his past three stops. But the Raiders (1-7) hope their newest defensive end can give them something, anything, to bolster an anemic pass rush in the second half this season.
“He’s a guy that’s played in the Super Bowl, played with a cou- ple different teams. He’s a physical guy, big guy, as a defensive end for us, that has some experience,” Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said Thursday of the 6-foot- 4, 275-pound Ealy. “We’re just trying to find the right mix of guys. We’re churning the roster a little bit just to find some guys that fit us, not only for
now but for the future.”
Ealy is only 26, young for this team, and a 2014 second-round pick out of Missouri. He’s amassed 18 sacks, 101 combined tackles, 15 passes defensed, three interceptions and six forced fumbles in his career. He’s only started 20 of 67 career games, but the flashes of competence at defensive end the Raiders have lacked this season have surfaced in Ealy’s early years.
“You know Kony Ealy has had production in some big moments,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said, in addition to noting Ealy’s arsenal also includes covering tight ends on first and third down.
The Panthers traded Ealy and a thirdround pick to New England for a secondrounder in March 2017, but the Patriots waived him before he played in a game. The New York Jets claimed him off waivers, and Ealy played 15 games for them with nine passes defensed but only one sack and 14 combined tackles in 2017. He signed with Dallas as a free agent last offseason, but was released on roster cutdown day this September.
So what will it take for Ealy to recapture that fleeting dominance of his early years in the league? Because the Raiders certainly wouldn’t mind it resurfacing here in Oakland.
“Just settle down, really focus in on my game. I got great coaches, a great opportunity to do that. As long as I get the plays down, I’ll get out there and get on the field and make plays for the team,” Ealy said Thursday. “… Just the style of play, I feel like it was a great fit. Coach Gruden, (Guenther), all my coaches just make me feel right at home. For me it’s just about getting the playbook all the way down. That way I feel comfortable and free to move out there faster and make plays.”
Ealy said signing with the Raiders was “sudden” and that watching the season’s first nine weeks from his couch was tough. A rare benefit he reaped from watching games from afar was being able to tweak his own repertoire with bits and pieces from others he saw on television.
Now he’ll implement them into a unit that’s already lost its two best players since Sept. 1. With Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin gone, the Raiders are left with rookie Arden Key, veteran Frostee Rucker, secondyear DE Fadol Brown and new signee Jacquies Smith at defensive end. It can’t hurt bringing Ealy, who’s shown he can thrive in the league, into the fold with not much left to lose in 2018.
And with yet another chance to rediscover his old form, Ealy is finally hoping to do so with a team that needs him to.
“Football is football, whether it’s first, second or third, your job is to get to the ball,” Ealy said. “Playing with these guys, I hope this will be a good situation for everybody to be able to play together and wreak havoc in the backfield.”