August 28, 2023   3 MIN READ

Report: Barnett Future Unclear

ESPN: Vet DE Given Permission To Seek Trade

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Eagles veteran defensive end Derek Barnett, who took a pay cut this offseason, faces an uncertain future as the NFL deadline for teams to cut rosters down to 53 nears.

Barnett’s agent, Drew Rosenahaus, has reportedly been given permission to seek a trade to find more playing time elsewhere, per an ESPN report.

The Eagles are deep at edge rusher, with Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham and rookie Nolan Smith all locks to make the 53-man roster, which must be finalized by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Barnett, a 2016 first-round pick who’s coming back from ACL surgery, could be part of the five-man edge rotation if the Eagles keep him, but the team also has third-year pro Patrick Johnson, a special-teams stalwart.

GETTY IMAGES: Is time up for Eagles DE Derek Barnett, a seven-year veteran?

Keeping six edge rushers would preclude the team from keeping another player at a different position and also force the Eagles to have two edge defenders who aren’t playing many defensive snaps, which isn’t the best allocation of resources.

Barnett, the 14th overall pick from 2016, helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl as a rookie serving in a rotational defensive end, contributing five sacks and three fumble recoveries.

The Tennessee product, who broke Reggie White’s school sack record, never had more than 6.5 sacks in his first four seasons and totaled just two in the final year of his rookie deal, but the Eagles still re-signed him to a two-year deal.

Barnett tore his ACL in Week 1 last season and then re-structured his deal, per ESPN, in July.

Typically in these cases, the team is planning to move on but floats the perception that it’s simply allowing the player to test the market to see if there’s a trade that can bring something back in return, especially for a pass rusher.

Maybe the Eagles will hold onto Barnett. We’ll know soon enough.

– Geoff Mosher (@geoffmoshernfl) is co-host of the “Inside the Birds” podcast and staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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About The Author

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Geoff Mosher is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience covering the Eagles, the NFL and other college and pro sports across several different multimedia platforms. He is co-host of the acclaimed Inside the Birds podcast, the leading podcast for intel on the Philadelphia Eagles, and co-host on 97.3 ESPN's drive-time show. He has also hosted on Philadelphia's sports-talk station, 94.1 WIP and 97.5 The Fanatic. Geoff was the lead Eagles Insider from 2012-2015 for NBC Sports Philadelphia, where he wrote for the website and appeared daily on the station's TV shows, including Quick Slants, Philly Sports Talk, Eagles Pregame/Postgame Live and Eagles Extra. Prior to joining NBC Sports, Geoff worked the Eagles beat from 2005-2012 for the Wilmington News Journal, where he broke several major news stories and also won an Associated Press Sports Editors award under the category of Breaking News for his coverage of the sudden death of Phillies play by play broadcaster Harry Kalas. Geoff has appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter, NFL Network, NBC Sports Network, FOX29, 6ABC and has conducted interviews for Sirius/XM NFL radio and countless other radio stations across the country.

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