Derek Barnett will get claimed after Eagles waived him final week

Former Eagles defensive finish Derek Barnett might be persevering with his NFL profession with an up-and-coming AFC crew for the remainder of 2023.

After the Eagles waived the previous first-round choose late final week, Barnett was claimed by the Houston Texans, ESPN and NFL Community reported.

Barnett, the No. 14 total choose from the 2017 draft, continues to be simply 27 years outdated. However his time in Philly is up after he was inactive for the earlier two video games. It was clear that Barnett was not comfortable together with his position within the Eagles’ defensive finish rotation.

He’ll be part of a Houston Texans crew that’s 6-5 and combating for a playoff spot in DeMeco Ryans’ first yr as head coach and C.J. Stroud’s rookie season. The Texans’ defensive coordinator is Matt Burke, who spent 2019 and 2020 with the Eagles.

The Eagles launched the next assertion after releasing Barnett final week:

“The Eagles group want to thank Derek for his contributions to this crew during the last seven seasons. As a rookie, Derek made probably the most memorable performs in our Tremendous Bowl victory over the Patriots. He has been a terrific teammate who at all times performed with excessive power and energy. We want Derek nothing however the very best.”

That assertion was price noting as a result of most gamers don’t get one after they’re launched. It underscores the disconnect between what many followers considered Barnett throughout his seven seasons with the franchise and what the crew considered him.

Barnett ended up with simply 21 1/2 sacks in 73 profession video games with the Eagles however was truly productive early in his profession. Barnett had 5.0 sacks as a rookie and had a powerful postseason run with a strip-sack within the NFC Championship Sport and the restoration on Brandon Graham’s big strip sack in Tremendous Bowl LII.

Even via the 2020 season, Barnett was considerably productive and confirmed promise as a rotational participant. However then he had simply 2 sacks in 2021 and the Eagles nonetheless determined to deliver him again on a two-year deal as a rotational participant. Barnett lasted only one recreation in 2022 earlier than tearing his ACL and in 2023 was buried on the depth chart.

However Barnett additionally didn’t do a lot together with his restricted alternative. In eight video games and 99 snaps, Barnett didn’t report sack or a quarterback hit in 2023.

With out Barnett, the Eagles edge rusher rotation is just a little shorter. Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat are the starters and play the majority of the snaps. After that, 35-year-old Brandon Graham mixes in and rookie Nolan Smith performs restricted snaps. The one different edge rusher on the energetic roster is Patrick Johnson.

Via 12 weeks, Sweat has performed 77% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and Reddick has performed 76%.

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