The Eagles continued the trend of bringing back their own free agents with Thursday's announcement that they signed defensive end Derek Barnett to a two-year contract.
Barnett's return was a bit of a surprise after the Eagles inked edge rusher Haason Reddick to a three-year, $45 million deal last week. But he wasn't garnering much interest in free agency and the Eagles decided to roll it back with their 2017 first-round draft pick, and likely at a lower per-year salary than he earned in 2021.
Barnett wasn't a first-round bust, but he failed to deliver upon the draft capital and a promising rookie season, partly because of injuries. He missed a total of 16 games to injury from 2017-20. He played in all 17 games plus a playoff game last season, but finished with a career-low two sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
He still managed to lead the Eagles in penalties with eight for the season. After a neutral zone infraction against the Cowboys, a broadcast camera caught Eagles coach Nick Sirianni saying into his headset, "It's always him." A week earlier, Barnett was flagged for unnecessary roughness, a costly late personal foul that benefited the victorious 49ers.
For his career, Barnett has drawn 29 penalties, three of which were declined. Ten were personal fouls.
It was Barnett's lack of production as a pass rusher, though, that frustrated most. In 64 games, he recorded only 21 1/2 sacks. He had a respectable five as a rookie, and two years later, set career highs with 6 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for losses, and 22 hits.
But he remained inconsistent and regressed in his last two seasons. The Eagles touted Barnett's ability to bend and turn the corner when they selected him 14th overall, just a spot after Reddick. But he failed to develop a counter move as effective, and the relatively slight Barnett — for an edge rusher — struggled.
There were glimpses of greatness. And he always played hard — against the run, as well. He also doesn't turn 26 until June. But Barnett will likely drop in the Eagles' rotation — with Josh Sweat and Reddick the top two edges — as will veteran Brandon Graham, who is returning from an Achilles tendon rupture and turns 34 next month.
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Barnett's contract numbers, which were not made available, will likely reflect his decreasing role. In the 2020 offseason, the Eagles picked up Barnett's fifth-year, $10.051 million option for 2021. They eventually converted approximately $9 million into a signing bonus and pushed that money into future years.
If Barnett had signed with another team, he would have counted for $7.248.8 million against this year's cap. It's unclear if the Eagles will still eat that number or how much more he'll count against the salary cap.
The Eagles have already released and re-signed Fletcher Cox, partly because general manager Howie Roseman had similarly kicked money the defensive tackle was owed into future years. Cox signed a one-year, $14 million deal earlier this week.
The Eagles also restructured center Jason Kelce's deal. He was signed to a one-year, $14 million contract. They brought back safety Anthony Harris for one year, $2.25 million, and inked running back Boston Scott and wide receiver Greg Ward to cost-effective one-year deals rather than tender the restricted free agents. Defensive back Andre Chachere was also brought back on a one-year deal.
Aside from Reddick, wide receiver Zach Pascal has been the only other free agent the Eagles have signed from another team thus far this offseason. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal. There are still plenty of players on the open market, and possible trades, with the draft a little over a month away.
But Roseman and company appear to value some of the returning players from a 9-8 team more than some outside the NovaCare Complex.
