Derek Barnett has started looking for opportunity elsewhere.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Eagles defensive end is scanning the trade market to see if there’s more playing time out there on another team, though the Eagles would still like to keep him in the plans for this season as added depth if possible.
Philly’s defensive line depth, especially on the edge – with Brandon Graham, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Nolan Smith – is loaded, however, and Barnett has only fallen further back on the depth chart with the pass-rush unit only growing more talented – and crowded.
#Eagles DE Derek Barnett, through agent Drew Rosenhaus, is gauging the market for the potential to play more elsewhere, per sources. Philly plans to keep Barnett but understands a deep pass-rush roster limits playing time. The 2017 first-round pick should have trade value. pic.twitter.com/lq4KrNNFsC
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 28, 2023
Barnett was drafted by the Eagles 14th overall in 2017 and went on to recover Brandon Graham’s strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII on the key play that helped finally bring a championship back to Philadelphia.
But his trajectory ever since has been unsteady.
Barnett recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2019 as the Doug Pederson-Carson Wentz era started to wear thin, then struggled to carve out a role once Nick Sirianni came in, notching just two sacks in 2021 before an ACL tear wiped out his 2022 season.
He’s become more known for his temper and roles in shoving matches or outright fights in practice, which hasn’t helped his stock over the past couple of years, and definitely not as an influx of younger, more promising pass rushers have been added to the roster.
Still, he’s 27 and can contribute to a team that’s weak off the edge if they have something to offer the Eagles.
MORE: Philadelphia Eagles 2023 depth chart
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