Derek Barnett Wants Trade; What Can Eagles Get for 1st-Round Pick?
PHILADELPHIA - Derek Barnett wants out, and Philadelphia Eagles fan would likely be more than happy to show him the door.
The first-round draft pick in 2017 began his career with promising results but fizzled since, and his penchant for delivering cheap shots after the whistle has made him a target of fans wanting him gone.
Even Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was caught on camera after one personal foul call against Barnett last season mouthing the words, “It’s always him.”
A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicates that Barnett’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is gauging the market for the potential to play elsewhere. Fowler said that the Eagles would prefer to keep him but understand that a deep pass-rush roster would limit his playing time.
Rosenhaus, and by extension, Barnett, knows that limited playing time would hinder Barnett’s chances of getting another contract following the season.
The Eagle restructured the defensive end's deal on the first day of training camp, bringing his salary down from $7 million to $3.5 with the potential to make $2.25M in incentives. Until that deal was done, Barnett was considered a potential training camp cut.
The defensive end is also coming off a torn ACL that ended his season in Week 1 last year.
Barnett, who was the 14th pick in the NFL Draft back in 2017, had five sacks as a rookie and recovered the fumble forced by Brandon Graham against Tom Brady late in the Eagles’ Super Bowl triumph.
Despite some decent sack numbers – he had a career-high 6.5 in 2019 and 21.5 overall – he had a down year just two years ago when he had 2.5.
The Eagles are deep on the defensive line, with as many as 10 to 12 players who could make the final 53-man roster.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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