Philadelphia Eagles: Extending Derek Barnett is becoming a no-brainer

Derek Barnett is making the Philadelphia Eagles’ process a whole lot easier.

When news initially broke that the Philadelphia Eagles had picked up Derek Barnett‘s fifth-year option, it rubbed some fans the wrong way.

Sure, Barnett has undoubtedly been a fine, maybe even good player since going 14th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, but teams don’t typically pay defensive lineman $10 million for a single season when they’ve yet to amass more than 6.5 sacks a season -especially as an edge rusher when that’s literally your main job.

After watching other members of the 2017 class, namely the Marlon Humphrey, Tre’Davious White, T.J. Watt, and Week 15 opponent Buddha Baker ball out and become Pro Bowlers while still on their rookie contracts, it’s understandable to be a bit miffed at the lack of elite production Barnett has brought to the table over his first three professional seasons.

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But, in a welcomed twist of fate, Barnett has seemingly put it all together in 2020, just in time to earn a new, long-term contract.

Now granted, it’s not like Barnett has become a sack a game guy because that is, was, and never will be his game, but the 24-year-old has really come into his own as a power rushing base end the likes of which Philly has had a ton of success with since 2011 (Brandon Graham). He’s a perfect complement to the speedy Josh Sweat lined up over left tackles and has the uncanny ability to impact plays even when it doesn’t result in a sack.

Huh, in that regard, Barnett really is like BG.

Whether tasked with playing across from Graham or coming off the bench like he did from Weeks 2-4, Barnett has remained the consistent competitor he’s always been, only now, the Tennessee product is doing so at a generally higher level than what he reached in seasons past.

Is that worth $10 million a year? Goodness no, but that’s the beauty of signing Barnett to an extension: Howie Roseman can have his cake and eat it too.

As you may or may not know, the Eagles’ 2020 salary cap is kind of a mess. They’re currently in the red by roughly $70 million with only so many ways to right their ship without a near-total teardown. By extending Barnett to a deal at, say, $5-7 million a year, Roseman can take that $10 million off the books and instead structure the deal so that the vast majority is paid out from 2022-24.

If the Eagles can pay Barnett roughly $2 million for his services in 2021, it becomes a whole lot more manageable to pay his something like $7-9 million a year in each subsequent season.

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With Brandon Graham only under contract through the 2021 season – at a massive cap hit – and Josh Sweat set to hit the open market in the spring of 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive end rotation is going to look noticeably different in the not too distant future. While it wouldn’t be the end of the world to outright release Derek Barnett and address the position with a high draft pick, it’s never a particularly good look to pass on a 24.5-year-old with 19.5 sacks in 48 career games, especially if you can work the cap in such a way to incentivize his retention.

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