Eagles bringing DE Derek Barnett back on two-year deal

Just like defensive tackle Fletcher Cox before him, defensive end Derek Barnett won't be going anywhere. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter (h/t Tim McManus) reported Thursday the Philadelphia Eagles were re-signing Barnett via a two-year deal. The Eagles later confirmed the length of the agreement but did not disclose financials regarding the contract. 

Barnett first entered the NFL when the Eagles selected him with the 14th pick of the 2017 draft, and the 25-year-old has experienced highs and lows but has also battled multiple injury issues during his pro tenure. While he tallied a career-best 6.5 sacks during the 2019 season, the league's website notes he recorded a career-low two sacks and 11 quarterback hits this past campaign before he was allowed to test free agency at the start of the new league year last week. 

"You really want to bring back Derek Barnett? The guy who has underperformed as a first-round pick? The guy who had 2 sacks last year in a contract season? The guy who has piled up dumb penalty after dumb penalty for the last five seasons? It’s better for both sides to go their separate ways," Dave Zangaro wrote for an NBC Sports Philadelphia piece published on Tuesday. 

Clearly, the Eagles disagreed with that assessment. 

Across 64 career regular-season games, Barnett has notched 21.5 sacks and 76 quarterback hits.