Eddie Edwards (American football)


Eddie Edwards is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League.
Edwards was born in Sumter, South Carolina and raised in Fort Pierce, Florida. He played high school football at Fort Pierce Central High School. He attended the University of Miami, where he was a consensus All-American defensive end. In 1976, he was awarded the Jack Harding Memorial Award as the most valuable player for the Hurricanes, as selected by coaches vote.
Edwards was drafted in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft, the third overall selection, by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played for the Bengals for 12 seasons from 1977 until his retirement in 1988. During that time, he recovered 17 fumbles and set a franchise record with 83.5 sacks. However, only 47.5 of those sacks are "official", as the NFL did not consider sacks an official statistic until 1982. His 47.5 official sacks remained a Bengals franchise record until Carlos Dunlap passed him in 2015.
Edwards was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.