A former Tennessee defensive end’s time in Philadelphia looks to be coming to a close according to a report from Friday morning.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported on Friday that the Philadelphia Eagles are waiving former 2017 first-round draft pick Derek Barnett.
Schefter also mentioned in his post that Barnett is “expected to draw interest and find a new home soon.”
Eagles are waiving DE Derek Barnett today, per sources. The 14th overall pick of the 2017 Draft is expected to draw interest and find a new home soon. pic.twitter.com/JMX9ciHJzd
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2023
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While it was during a time that can sometimes be forgotten or overlooked, Barnett’s three-year at Tennessee was nothing short of remarkable and historical.
Skipping to the end for a moment, Barnett finished his career as Tennessee’s all-time sack leader over Reggie White with 33 sacks compared to White’s 32 sacks over a four-year stretch. Barnett is also third in Tennessee’s all-time single-season sack number at 13, trailing only Reggie White (15) and Jonathan Brown (13.5).
Barnett first came to Tennessee from Brentwood High School in Nashville as a consensus four-star recruit in the class of 2014. The Nashville native burst onto the scene during his freshman season, setting the record for most tackles for loss (20.5) and most sacks (10) by a true freshman in Tennessee history.
Barnett only needed two more seasons after his freshman year to become a game-changing first-round draft pick. By the time that his Tennessee career was over, Barnett had collected more than 50 awards, recognitions, and honors from various publications, entities, and leagues across the nation including First Team All-American awards, player of the week recognitions, preseason watch lists, and more. The list is truly impressive.
Barnett was drafted with the 14th overall pick by the Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft. Barnett played his entire rookie season in 2017 and capped it off with a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The former Vol recorded a fumble recovery in the 41-33 victory.
Barnett played seven games in the 2018 season before being placed on injury reserve with a shoulder injury. Barnett would eventually play in all 14 games of the 2019 season before the Eagles went ahead and exercised his fifth-year option in April 2020.
Despite missing two weeks in the season due to various injuries, Barnett had a productive 2020 season with 5.5 sacks and 34 total tackles.
Jumping ahead to 2022, Barnett suffered a torn ACL in the season opener against Detroit. Barnett was not able to participate in the season including in the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss against Trey Smith’s Kansas City Chiefs.
All in all, across 65 career games for Philadelphia, Barnett racked up 45 starts, 147 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 15 passes deflected, three forced fumbles, and one interception.
If Adam Schefter’s report does come true, it likely won’t take long for someone to pick up the talented 27-year-old pass rusher.
