Examining Eagles Options after Losing Derek Barnett for Season with ACL Injury
The loss of Derek Barnett to a season-ending ACL injury suffered in Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions hit Nick Sirianni hard on Monday afternoon.
“Obviously that’s a big blow for us,” said the Eagles head coach about losing a pass rusher from the lineup. “I love the way Derek Barnett comes to work every single day and plays with grittiness and toughness and nasty. I am a huge Derek Barnett fan and he’ll be missed.
“That sucks. I hate that for him… my heart breaks for Derek.”
Barnett’s season ends after just 12 snaps played. He was brought back on a one-year contract this past offseason after his rookie deal expired and he became a free agent.
His future is very much in limbo now.
It is the second straight year the Eagles lost a key pass rusher in the opening weeks of the season.
Last year, it was Brandon Graham who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 2.
Injuries are just as big of a part of NFL games as touchdowns and fantasy points.
The Eagles are fortunate that they have options to replace Barnett, or they could try to bring somebody in.
Jason Pierre-Paul and Everson Griffin are a pair of veterans on the street.
Both entered the league with Graham in 2010. Griffin is 34, though he had five sacks in nine games with the Vikings last year and 85.5 in his career.
And, well, the Eagles play the Vikings Monday night.
JPP is 33, but the Bucs didn’t think he had enough left to bring him back after a 2.5 sack season last year.
Tak McKinley is still just 26 but he hasn’t done much since being drafted in the first round by the Falcons in 2017.
It’s tantalizing to think about bringing somebody in, but the most obvious answer is Tarron Jackson, who was inactive for the opener but will now see his reps increase.
The second-year rusher from Coastal Carolina had a strong summer, so now it’s time to see if he can carry that over into a season of great expectations for the Eagles.
Jackson played 23 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie, finishing with one QB hurry a sack, a forced fumble, and 17 tackles, so he’s not unproven.
Roles could be expanded for Patrick Johnson and Tarron Jackson with Derek Barnett lost for the season
Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today
“Tarron wasn’t up (Sunday) but how quickly it can turn from you not being up for a game to you having a significant role,” said Sirianni. “I know our guys understand that. We talked to our guys a lot about their role and how if you’re a backup you’re one snap away from going in. That’s just the way it’s going to play out for Tarron.”
There are other, less obvious options, starting with the possibility that Milton Williams gets more reps on the outside.
If that happens, the Eagles could add defensive tackle Marvin Wilson from the practice squad to get some reps at DT if necessary.
Patrick Johnson, who played just eight snaps against the Lions, and rookie Kyron Johnson are more edge rushers than they are strictly linebackers, so they could also fill in on the edge.
Then there’s another possibility and probably a remote one.
What about Matt Leo?
At 6-7, 280, the guy looks the part. Plus, this is his third season with the team.
For those not familiar, Leo came to the Eagles via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.
The program is designed to increase the number of non-American and Canadian players in the league, part of the NFL’s strategy to grow globally.
Leo came from Iowa State via Adelaide, Australia.
“(GM) Howie (Roseman) and his staff have done a great job of making us deep at the O and D line,” said Sirianni, “so we have some good options there, we have a good rotation there.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
