Philadelphia Eagles: 5 players fighting for a contract extension in 2021
By David Esser
Derek Barnett, DE
A player whose named popped up in trade talks around last year’s trade deadline quite a bit, the Eagles ultimately decided to keep Derek Barnett on the roster, agreeing to pay him $10 million this season as part of his fifth-year option.
Barnett hasn’t necessarily been “bad” during his time as an Eagles edge rusher, but he’s yet to really live up to that #14 overall pick status. Across four seasons with Philly (three as a starter), Barnett has only logged 19.5 total sacks – and that’s while playing alongside the likes of Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham.
Howie Roseman loves to invest into the D-Line, so there’s a fairly high chance that he extends Barnett out of the sake of positional value. However, set to possess up to three first round picks in 2022, there’s also a good chance that Roseman just looks to bring in a new starting DE next offseason.
Brandon Graham is under contract through 2022, and Josh Sweat (who we’re going to talk about here in a bit) is another D-Line candidate to receive an extension.
The Eagles definitely have options on the defensive line, which means 2021 is the definition of a “prove it” year for Barnett. If he finally breaks though as an elite pass-rusher, he’ll get an extension. If he doesn’t, then the Eagles will likely look elsewhere for sacks in the future.