Eagles and Derek Barnett reportedly restructure contract for 2023
Eagles and Derek Barnett reportedly restructure contract for 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles and veteran defensive end Derek Barnett have agreed to a restructured contract for the 2023 season, ESPN’s Field Yates reported.
Barnett, 27, signed a two-year deal last offseason to stay in Philly but tore his ACL in Week 1.
Here are the new details from Yates:
Eagles DE Derek Barnett has agreed to a restructured contract, as he was previously due a $7.5M salary ($1.5M guaranteed) with up to $1M in per-game bonuses (max value $8.5M).
He’s now due a $3.5M guaranteed salary, with $250K in per-game bonuses and up to $2.25M in incentives…— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 27, 2023
The initial contract for Barnett was a unique one and the Eagles structured it in a way that they had an out after 2022. But this restructure makes it seem like Barnett is sticking around.
Just $1.08 million of Barnett’s $7.5 million salary in 2023 was initially coming from his base salary. The rest was bonus money. Now, Barnett’s earning potential in 2023 appears to be very heavily tied to incentives. According to Yates, Barnett now gets more guaranteed money in 2023 but the maximum value is lower.
After the 2021 season, Barnett hit the open market but then eventually ended up back with the Eagles.
“I think going into free agency, [Barnett] probably thought a little differently about where he would be,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman said at the 2022 owners meetings. “And for us, understanding that’s where he was thinking. It got to a point where it’s a huge priority to us to have a wave defensive line that’s really good. We know we can count on him. Obviously, it’s a position we want to continue to add to. We don’t want to make a strength a weakness.”
As they stand now, the Eagles are very deep at the edge rusher position. Barnett likely figures in as their fifth guy in that rotation behind Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham and rookie first-round pick Nolan Smith.
Barnett was not practicing at OTAs this spring but did return to practice on Wednesday as the Eagles kicked off training camp. Barnett (knee) was listed as limited.
The Eagles drafted Barnett with the No. 14 overall pick in 2017. In six seasons, Barnett has played in 65 games with 45 starts and has a total of 21 1/2 sacks and 76 quarterback hits.
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