![\"Philadelphia](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Andrew-Mukuba-Eagles-camp.jpg\")
Philadelphia Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba speaks with the media during training camp at NovaCare Complex on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. (Associated Press)<\/p>\nPHILADELPHIA \u2014 Andrew Mukuba was born in Zimbabwe\u2019s capital of Harare, in Southeast Africa, to parents who were fleeing the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n
He and his seven siblings often slept on the floor of a refugee camp. Money was scarce. So was electricity. Basic necessities like water often required a walk of several miles. His parents soon split up, and his mother, Tshala Bilolo, worked as a housekeeper in a hotel to provide whatever she could for her kids.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Mukuba and his family were granted asylum in the United States and moved to Austin, Texas, when he was 9 years old. He learned about American football in middle school, then went on to play as a defensive back in college, first at Clemson for three years and then a season with the Texas Longhorns, before the Eagles made him their second-round pick in April\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust seeing a lot at a young age, I feel like that prepared me for what\u2019s to come in life and what to expect,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything I went through, I feel like it\u2019s the reason for who I am today. I\u2019m just thankful for everything I went through. I\u2019m a firm believer in \u2018everything happens for a reason.\u2019 \u2026 Now I\u2019m here, and I\u2019m just blessed to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
In front of a scattered crowd of fans at Lincoln Financial Field and a limited TV audience, Mukuba burst onto the NFL landscape Saturday afternoon. The rookie Eagles safety, who had missed the early portion of training camp while recovering from a shoulder injury, made up for lost time with a 75-yard pick six, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection in his professional debut.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba speaks with the media during training camp at NovaCare Complex on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. (Associated Press)<\/p>\n
His first two electric plays came in a span of 8 minutes, 5 seconds during the Birds\u2019 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the second of three preseason games. Mukuba is competing with Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum for the starting free safety spot, opposite Reed Blankenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, it felt amazing,\u201d Mukuba said. \u201cThat was my first-ever pick six. I was just so glad it happened now (rather) than later, just to be able to get it out of the way. And now that I know what it felt like, man, that\u2019s a feeling I want to have again. So, there\u2019s gonna be a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the opening play of the second quarter, Mukuba diagnosed a rollout pass from lefty Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel. He muscled past wide receiver Diontae Johnson to get into better position, then split Johnson and tight end Blake Whiteheart to pick off Gabriel\u2019s throw to the left side at the Eagles\u2019 25. Mukuba quickly darted the other direction down the sideline and then shifted toward the middle of the field, displaying his 4.45 speed all the way to the end zone as fans and teammates erupted in celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in that situation so many times in practice, so it was just muscle memory for me, just being in the right place at the right time, just going off the quarterback,\u201d Mukuba said. \u201cHe made a mistake and threw the ball where I was at, and I was able to step in front. And once I got the ball, I had in my mind that I had to get to the end zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two possessions later, he seized a Gabriel fumble on a flubbed handoff at the Cleveland 28, again quickly diagnosing the play.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust doing my assignment, and it was one of those things of being in the right place at the right time,\u201d said Mukuba, 22, who broke up a pass in the second half and also had a solo tackle. \u201cIt came down to the ball being on the ground. I tried to pick it up and run and tried to get back in the end zone, but I got tackled down. We preach (getting) the ball a lot here and that was the only thing on my mind, just go get the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year at the University of Texas, he had five interceptions, which was tied for most in the SEC, seven pass breakups, four sacks and 69 tackles, including 41 solo. Throughout his college career, he gained a reputation for reading quarterbacks, closing fast to the ball, and making big plays. And since hitting the field in training camp, he has been impressive, including nabbing a pick in the end zone during a joint practice with the Browns last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought that he has a knack for the football, how he practices, watching his tape, whether it was at Clemson or at Texas, and he has the ability to take the ball away as a playmaker,\u201d Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. \u201cAny time you go out there and make a play, that\u2019s big. That was exciting, the interception, and even the one when he was there for the fumble recovery after they had a missed exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman expressed similar praise the night he drafted Mukuba, trying to contain a wide grin as he spoke with the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe plays an Eagles brand of football,\u201d Roseman said. \u201cThis guy just checked all the boxes. \u2026 We considered moving back, but we really liked Andrew and his play temperament and his play style. He\u2019s got a nose for the ball, and he\u2019s got a feel for making big-time plays in big-time moments, and that\u2019s really the skill set we\u2019re looking for from the safety position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mukuba, whose unlikely journey began half a world away, was as advertised at the Linc on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: August 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Andrew Mukuba was born in Zimbabwe\u2019s capital of Harare, in Southeast Africa, to parents who were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[913,54,7,49,48,6,109,11520],"class_list":{"0":"post-293929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-andrew-mukuba","9":"tag-cleveland-browns","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","15":"tag-preseason"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115041046690878606","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}