The Philadelphia Eagles Defensive End (DE) and 14th overall 2017 National Football League (NFL) Draft pick, Derek Barnett has continuously been injured since his first start in a professional game.
The Barnett story has been written time and time again, but with Barnett being injured for three out of his six seasons in the NFL, including being out for the entire 2022 season due to an ACL tear, do the Eagles need to consider letting him go?
Although Barnett has recorded 95 solo tackles, 147 combined tackles and 21.5 sacks in his career, should the Eagles contemplate the fact that they are paying a player to ride the bench year after year?
“After making significant contributions as a rookie during the Eagles' championship run in 2017, Barnett hasn't lived up to Philadelphia's expectations the past four seasons,” said Tim McManus of ESPN.
Barnett in comparison to other players
The Eagles franchise’s choice of keeping Barnett on the team is not logical in the fact that they already have players that can replace him:
DE Josh Sweat has 132 combined tackles and 21.0 sacks in a five-year career, which is almost just as much as Barnett, even after just becoming a starter last season.
In his 13th NFL season, Robert Quinn has recorded 368 combined tackles and 102.0 sacks. The Eagles released DE Tarron Jackson three weeks ago and added Quinn to the roster. Quinn has the experience to easily carry out what the team would “miss” if they let go of Barnett.
Another NFL veteran, Brandon Graham, who also entered his 13th season in the NFL, has recorded 434 combined tackles and 62.0 sacks in his career. Yet another DE capable of filling Barnett’s shoes.
Coaching staff decision making… poor management?
The question remains as to why the Eagles have not considered letting Barnett go. However, one may wonder if it is because of the relationship Barnett has with the coaching staff.
"Obviously, that's a big blow for us (losing Barnett to an injury for the 2022 season). I love the way that Derek Barnett comes to work single every day and plays with grittiness and toughness and nasty. I am a huge Derek Barnett fan, and he'll be missed," said Head Coach Nick Sirianni in a press release by Sage Hurley on Sep. 12, 2022.
Another comment made by Sirianni can make one question the relationship between Barnett and the coaching staff, because while they have great things to say about him, he has not produced.
“Derek Barnett is everything that embodies what we want in the characteristics of a player,” said Sirianni to Sports Illustrated reporter John McMullen. “He’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s got high football IQ, he’s got high character, he loves football, and I love Derek Barnett, I love the type of player and the type of person that he is.”
How can you love the player that he is when he has barely played out his contract? Barnett has played in a total of 64 games in his six-year NFL career. There is an average of 17 regular season NFL games per-year, with this in mind, Barnett has missed around 38 games during his career. In his 2018 season, Barnett only participated in six games before going onto injured reserve. His injuries over the past six seasons have included an Inguinal Groin Sports Hernia, two Shoulder Rotator Cuff Tears, Pedal Ankle Sprain Grade 2, Thigh Hamstring Strain Grade 2 and the most recent, an ACL tear. This season, Barnett participated in the season opener and got hurt in the third quarter.
Economic standpoint
While we can speculate the Barnett case all we want, the real question is: why are the Eagles continuing to keep Barnett on staff from an economic standpoint?
Barnett signed a two-year extension deal with the Eagles this year, which is worth $14 million according to NBC Sports. While he may not be getting that exact amount due to his injury this season, the fact is that they have been paying a player to ride the bench for 50% of his career.
In those six seasons, the Eagles have paid out a total of $28,401,772 based on Barnett’s $7,389,756 overall salary (not including bonuses) according to SpoTrac.
You know what the Eagles could do with that money? The league minimum salary for a rookie in 2022 is $705,000 according to NBC Sports. That is 40.28 rookies that the Eagles could have picked up instead of paying Barnett for the past six years.
Implications for the future of the Eagles franchise
With all of the statistical and practical information that has been noted, we can conclude that the Eagles franchise needs to consider releasing Barnett from his contract. What will he injure next?
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