Philadelphia Eagles: 5 contracts that should be restructured this offseason

Derek Barnett

This isn’t technically a restructure *yet*, but the principle is the same. Derek Barnett is currently on the books for a $10 million cap hit in 2021 due to his fifth year option being picked up by the team. It’s highly unlikely that the team will allow him to play on such a lofty number, instead opting to extend him over the course of a handful of seasons to gradually lower that number.

So contract extension first, followed by a restructure of sorts.

There’s definitely a level of debate to whether Barnett is worth an extension – he’s struggled with injuries and his play has been shaky at times. However, the Philadelphia Eagles don’t really have anyone else to turn to on the defensive line. They’ve long prioritized running a deep rotation at the position, and with Malik Jackson and Vinny Curry likely on the way out, it’d be tough to sacrifice another player in Barnett.

Barnett has 12 sacks and 38 QB hits over the last two seasons (27 games), which is likely just enough to warrant giving him a second contract. The Eagles could *technically* void his fifth year option in March if they wanted to, but that seems really unlikely.

An extension to spread all that cash out is the obvious play here.