Philadelphia Eagles 2012 The
Philadelphia Eagles selected Kendricks in the second round (46th overall) of the
2012 NFL draft. He was the sixth linebacker selected in a highly talented linebacker class that included four Pro Bowlers out of the first seven linebackers drafted. On May 8, 2012, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Kendricks to a four-year,
$4.44 million contract that included $2.60 million guaranteed and a
signing bonus of $1.67 million. He entered organized team activities as the starting strongside linebacker. Throughout training camp, Kendricks competed against
Jamar Chaney for the job as the starting strongside linebacker. Head coach
Andy Reid named Kendricks the starting strongside linebacker, along with
Akeem Jordan and middle linebacker
DeMeco Ryans. He started the Eagles' season-opener at the Cleveland Browns and recorded five combined tackles during a 17–16 victory. On November 11, 2012, Kendricks recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback
Tony Romo during the Eagles' 38–23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On December 23, 2012, Kendricks recorded seven combined tackles in a 27–20 loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 14. He played all but two defensive snaps and left the fourth quarter after receiving a possible
concussion. He remained in concussion protocol and was sidelined for the Eagles' Week 17 loss to the
New York Giants. He finished his rookie season in 2012 with 75 combined tackles (58 solo), nine pass deflections, and a sack in 15 games.
2013 On January 16, 2013, the Philadelphia Eagles announced the hiring of Oregon head coach
Chip Kelly as their new head coach entering the 2013 season. Defensive coordinator
Billy Davis installed a base
3-4 defense and Kendricks was ultimately moved to inside linebacker to better suit his abilities. He was named one of the starting inside linebackers to start the regular season with DeMeco Ryans and starting outside linebackers
Connor Barwin and
Trent Cole. He started the Eagles' season-opener at the Washington Redskins and made ten combined tackles in a 33–27 victory. It marked Kendricks’ first career game with double digit tackles on defense. In Week 5, Kendricks recorded four combined tackles, a pass break up, and recorded his first career interception off a pass attempt by quarterback
Eli Manning during a 36–21 victory at the New York Giants. On October 27, 2013, he made a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) in a 15–7 loss to the New York Giants. On November 10, 2013, Kendricks recorded two solo tackles before exiting the Eagles' 27–13 win at the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury that caused him to miss the following game. On December 22, 2013, Kendricks made five combined tackles and a season-high two sacks on quarterback
Jay Cutler as the Eagles routed the Chicago Bears 54–11. It marked Kendricks first game with multiple sacks. The following week, he made a season-high tying 12 combined tackles (eight solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted Dallas Cowboys' quarterback
Tony Romo in a 24–22 loss. Kendricks finished the 2013 season with 106 combined tackles, four pass deflections, four sacks, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles in 15 games and 15 starts. The Eagles finished their first season under Chip Kelly first in the
NFC East with a 10–6 record and received a playoff berth. On January 4, 2014, Kendricks started his first career playoff game and recorded seven combined tackles during a 26–24 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wildcard game. In Week 9, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles and a sack in a 31–21 victory at the
Houston Texans. He finished his third season with 83 combined tackles (62 solo), four sacks, and three pass break ups in 12 games and 11 starts. Head coach
Chip Kelly named Kendricks and Alonso the starting duo with
Brandon Graham and
Connor Barwin as the starting outside linebackers. He started the
Philadelphia Eagles' season-opener at the
Atlanta Falcons and made ten combined tackles during their 26–24 loss. The following week, he made seven solo tackles before leaving the Eagles' 20–10 loss to the
Dallas Cowboys after suffering a
hamstring injury. He was inactive due to the injury in Week 3 and returned briefly in Week 4 before aggravating the injury and missing the next two games (Weeks 5–6). He finished the season with 86 combined tackles (64 solo), three pass deflections, and three interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts. Jim Schwartz chose to switch the Eagles' base defense from a
3-4 defense to a
4-3 defense. The change required Kendricks to move from inside linebacker to outside linebacker. Around the time of the
2016 NFL draft, it was reported that the Eagles had placed Kendricks on the trade block and were fielding trade offers for the linebacker. Head coach Doug Pederson named Kendricks the starting weakside linebacker opposite
Nigel Bradham and along with starting middle linebacker
Jordan Hicks. In Week 2, Kendricks recorded a season-high four solo tackles during the Eagles' 29–14 win at the
Chicago Bears. Kendricks was inactive for the Eagles' Week 17 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys after he sustained a
quadriceps injury. Kendricks had career-lows in 2016, finishing with only 32 combined tackles (23 solo) and a pass break up in 15 games and eight starts. Kendricks saw significantly less playing time in 2016 due to Schwartz's decision to remove him and only use two linebackers (Jordan Hicks and Najee Goode) during passing downs and nickel formations. He was limited to 273 defensive snaps in (26.8%) which was significantly lower than his 627 snaps in 2015.
2017 During the off-season, Kendricks requested a trade from the Eagles after a sharp decrease in playing time. General manager
Howie Roseman and the Eagles' front office declined his request. Rookie
Joe Walker replaced Hicks in the starting lineup, but Kendricks was tasked as his replacement in
nickel formations with
Najee Goode. On October 29, 2017, he recorded seven combined tackles and a sack in the Eagles' 33–10 victory at the San Francisco 49ers. Kendricks finished the 2017 regular season with 77 combined tackles (55 solo), six passes defended, and two sacks in 15 games and 13 starts. The Eagles finished atop the NFC East with a 13–3 record and had a first round bye. Kendricks was released by the Eagles on May 22, 2018.
Cleveland Browns Kendricks signed a one-year contract with the
Cleveland Browns on June 5, 2018, but was released on August 29, 2018, after being charged with
insider trading.
Seattle Seahawks On September 13, 2018, Kendricks signed a one-year deal with the
Seattle Seahawks. On September 17, 2018, Kendricks made his first start for the Seahawks just four days after signing with the team. In the game he had three solo tackles and one sack in a 17-24 road loss against the
Chicago Bears in
Soldier Field. On October 2, 2018, Kendricks was suspended indefinitely from the NFL due to the insider trading. On October 30, 2018, it was revealed that Kendricks was given an eight-game suspension, making him eligible to return in Week 14. He was activated to the Seahawks' roster on December 2, 2018. He suffered a broken tibia in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2018. On March 13, 2019, Kendricks signed a one-year, $4 million contract extension with the Seahawks. In week 4 against the
Arizona Cardinals, Kendricks recorded 6 tackles and sacked rookie quarterback
Kyler Murray twice in the 27–10 win. In week 8 against the
Atlanta Falcons, Kendricks recorded an interception off
Matt Schaub in the 27–20 win. This was Kendricks' first interception of the season and his first as a member of the Seahawks. In week 9 against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kendricks recorded a strip sack on
Jameis Winston that was recovered by teammate
Rasheem Green in the 40–34 overtime win. In Week 17, Kendricks suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the playoffs. On October 21, 2020, the Seahawks signed Kendricks to their practice squad. He was released on November 3, but was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.
Washington Football Team Kendricks was signed by
Washington Football Team off the Seahawks' practice squad on December 21, 2020.
San Francisco 49ers On August 16, 2021, Kendricks signed a one-year contract with the
San Francisco 49ers, but was placed on injured reserve on August 24 and released on September 2. He re-signed with the 49ers on October 18, 2021, but was released on October 23. ==NFL career statistics==