Soul sign DE Strong

PHILADELPHIA, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) – The Philadelphia Soul signed defensive end Derrick Strong on Thursday.

Strong (6’4, 245) spent three years playing with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe (2005-2007), where he recorded nine sacks and was named to the All-NFL Europe Team in 2006.

Strong was signed as an undrafted rookie by the Carolina Panthers in 2004 after having a stellar career at Illinois. He played in four preseason games with the Panthers before being released. He then signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2005 and was allocated to NFLE before attending training camp and playing in four preseason games with the Titans. He was released by Tennessee before the start of the season.

The Chicago native played college football at Illinois, where he was elected the team’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive MVP during his senior year of 2003 when he had 47 tackles and four sacks to earn honorable mention Big Ten accolades. For his career, Strong had 143 tackles and 14 sacks with the Illini.