Philadelphia Eagles: 5 players fighting for a contract extension in 2021

Josh Sweat, DE

Last but not least, Josh Sweat is another young lineman looking for a payday this upcoming offseason. He’s progressively gotten better and better since being drafted back in 2018, exploding onto the national scene with 6.0 sacks last year despite operating in a limited role.

The big question this season is simply how much more the Eagles plan to use Sweat.

Sweat very clearly has the natural athleticism and pass-rushing abilities to be a top-tier DE in this league, but there’s some questions that remain regarding his ability to stay healthy in a full-time starting role. He fell during the 2018 draft due to some knee issues, a health concern that has seen him relegated to a DE3/4 role with the Eagles for the entirety of his NFL career.

However, with the before mentioned Barnett’s future up in the air, there’s a possibility that the Eagles take the training wheels off Sweat this year, and simply find out if he can operate in a more snap-heavy role. As long as he can stay healthy, he’s a much better player than Barnett from a pure skill mindset.

The Eagles could technically extend both Barnett and Sweat if they really wanted to, but I think they’ll ultimately settle on one, freeing up that other DE spot for a future draft pick in 2022.