Former Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett will continue his NFL career with an up-and-coming AFC team for the remainder of 2023.
Barnett was acquired by the Houston Texans after the Eagles waived the former first-round pick late last week, ESPN and NFL Network reported.
Barnett, the 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft, is only 27 years old. However, his time in Philadelphia is up as he has been inactive for the past two games. It was clear that Barnett was not satisfied with his role in the Eagles’ defensive end rotation.
He joins a Houston Texans team that is 6-5 and in contention for a playoff berth during DeMeco Ryans’ first year as head coach and CJ Stroud’s rookie season. The Texans’ defensive coordinator is Matt Burke, who spent 2019 and 2020 with the Eagles.
The Eagles released the following statement after releasing Barnett last week.
“The Eagles organization would like to thank Derek for his contributions to this team over the past seven seasons. As a rookie, Derek made one of the most memorable plays in the Super Bowl victory over the Patriots. .He was always a great teammate, played with energy and played with energy. We wish Derek all the best.”
This statement is notable since most players won’t be able to get it at release. This highlights the disconnect between what many fans thought of Barnett and what the team thought of him during his seven seasons with the franchise.
Barnett had just 21 1/2 sacks in 73 career games with the Eagles, but was actually productive early in his career. Barnett recorded 5.0 sacks as a rookie and had strong postseason performances, including a strip sack in the NFC Championship Game and recovering from Brandon Graham’s huge strip sack in Super Bowl LII.
Burnett showed some success throughout the 2020 season, showing promise as a rotation player. However, he only had two sacks in 2021, and the Eagles still decided to bring him back as a rotation player on a two-year deal. Barnett lasted just one game before tearing his ACL in 2022, but was buried on the depth chart in 2023.
But Barnett also didn’t make much use of his limited opportunities. Barnett played eight games and 99 snaps in 2023, but did not record a sack or a quarterback hit.
Without Barnett, the Eagles’ edge rusher rotation will be a little shorter. Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat are the starters and will play the majority of the snaps. After that, 35-year-old Brandon Graham will be added, and rookie Nolan Smith will play limited snaps. The only edge rusher remaining on the active roster is Patrick Johnson.
Through 12 weeks, Sweat played 77% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and Redick played 76%.
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