4 Philadelphia Eagles players named in recent Bleacher Report trade story

Derek Barnett

Yet another player who’s seen his name frequently pop up in trade rumors over the past 12 months or so, Derek Barnett was connected to two separate teams, the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings.

With Barnett set to be a free agent at the end of the season, the general logic here is that he’s a former first-round pick worth taking a chance on. If he plays really well under a new system in New Orleans or Minnesota, then he would likely be worth extending as a longterm starting defensive end. After all, Barnett is just 24 years old, despite being a four-year veteran.

Personally speaking, I think it would be extremely wise for the Philadelphia Eagles to begin aggressively shopping Barnett over the coming months. While he’s not nearly as bad as some Eagles fans like to make him out to be, he’s still on an expiring contract and is probably not worth an extension from a Philadelphia perspective.

He’s yet to really breakout as a true pass-rushing threat in Philly, and the team is set to have 2-3 first-round picks next offseason. One can only assume that they’ll be in the market for a new, young defensive end with one of those draft selections.