Meet the man tasked with replacing Shane Ray and Shaq Barrett for the Broncos

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Throughout the offseason, in private conversations with players and beyond, the same name kept coming up.

Kasim Edebali.

“That dude can ball.”

“He’s for real.”

“Kasim is gonna surprise people.”

Signed in mid-March, maybe the NFL’s quietest time, Edebali’s acquisition and thus his name flew far under the radar in Broncos Country. It only took a few weeks, though, before he was firmly on the radar of the players.

As offseason workouts, OTAs and minicamp progressed, his name was uttered from the mouths teammates and coaches alike, yet nobody thought much of the edge rusher who played in every game for the New Orleans Saints over the last three years. The team was just so deep at his position.

That all changed on Friday afternoon, right around 4:40 pm.

“At practice yesterday, Shane [Ray] tore a ligament in his left wrist,” head coach Vance Joseph told the media following the team’s walkthrough. “He’s going to be out six to eight weeks.”

A few moments later, the words that made it impossible to continue brushing off the 27-year-old’s name.

“We signed Edebali in the off season from New Orleans for his rushing skills,” the head coach explained, singling out only one player. “He’s a guy that’s going to help us rush from the SAM position and stop the run that’s forced on the edge. He’s capable; we’re excited about him.”

Just a few hours before those oh-so-important words, BSN Denver spoke exclusively with the man now tasked with replacing two key cogs.

The good news: He’s no stranger to this position.

“That’s kind of been my role my entire career, you know?” He said, talking at the time of stepping in for Shaq Barett. “If somebody goes down and somebody has to step up, I have to be that guy. That’s kind of my mantra. I’ve been doing that my whole career. If anybody calls my jersey number, I’m gonna be there.”

With that in mind, it’s time to learn a little bit about the smiley German.

That’s right, Edebali is a native of Hamburg, Germany. He started playing football at the age of nine, a product of the NFL Europe boom, but as the European affiliate went by the wayside, he needed a plan to keep playing the game he loved.

At the age of 18, he came to the United States as and played two years two at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, a part of the USA Football International Student Program. He showed enough—the 6-foot-2, 250-pound frame sure didn’t hurt—to earn a scholarship to Boston College where he would spend five years, eventually leading the team in tackles for loss (15), sacks (9.5) and forced fumbles (3) as a senior captain.

After going undrafted, the German-born pass rusher, signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2014 and went on to play in all 48 possible games during his time there, notching  40 tackles (30 solo), eight sacks, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery while only starting two games.

In March, as an unrestricted free agent, Edebali signed a one-year, $1,200,000 contract with the Broncos, and it’s safe to say he’s enjoying his new home.

“I love it,” he said with an ear-to-ear smile and an accent you’d never pinpoint. “I mean, I really enjoy working with those guys. I actually talked to some of my teammates about it today, Von and Shane do not have big egos, every time they say something to you, they mean it genuinely and they are trying to get you better. That’s how this whole team really works, everybody is trying to push each other and make each other better, and I’m really enjoying it… The crowd, the guys, everything. I love it.”

Both Ray and Miller know that any guy can be counted on at any time, and while how true that has now become in the outside linebackers room is unfortunate, Edebali’s willingness to join a team that was deep at his position has now paid off two-fold.

“I just wanted to bring my strengths to the table,” he explained, sounding quite confident in those very strengths. “It’s my fourth year now; I feel like I can rush pretty well, I can always help on special teams. I just want to add to the room.”

In a tight race with the corners and safties, that outside linebackers room—with all those different personalities—may just be the most fun on the team, and Edebali is adding to the room in that way as well.

“Von can joke around, Shane is pretty damn funny, and I would say I’m pretty funny too,” he said. “Check my Instagram.”

You should probably check his Instagram.

“That’s how we play football, really,” the suddenly important defender added of their fun style. “That keeps me going…. You look at Von, we finish a drill, we’re breathing pretty heavy, then the fans shout, and he has all the energy back. Then he brings it to us and all the sudden it’s like we have infinite energy out there. Then, you just look at your unit, and they go crazy when you make a play. That gives you so much extra energy when you’re tired. You just keep going.”

Keep going. Like a tired linebacker after a conditioning drill, the Broncos have no choice but to keep going, even without two of their top-three edge rushers. But like a Von Miller joke, the cheer of the fans or a teammate’s encouragement, Kasim Edebali is set to be the unit’s proverbial source of energy.