Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham. Photo from Tommy Gilligan of USA TODAY Sports.
Adam Schefter has reported that Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive end Derek Barnett will undergo shoulder surgery that will bring his season to a close.
This is a devastating blow to a team already dealing with a litany of injuries at key positions. Barnett will join Rodney McLeod, Jay Ajayi, Mike Wallace and Timmy Jernigan on the sidelines leaving minimal depth at defensive end on the Eagles’ roster.
The Eagles defensive ends are now limited to Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett, Chris Long and Josh Sweat. Michael Bennett will likely take the first line snaps with Josh Sweat filling in on the much used second line.
Josh Sweat. Photo by Michael Bryant of Philly Inquirer.
There’s not much good about losing one of your up and coming players to a season ending injury. However, on the bright side, the Eagles will now get to see how rookie defensive end Josh Sweat performs given more opportunities.
He was a phenom at Florida State but is known to struggle with injuries. Sweat has a long 6-foot-5 frame and weighs 251 pounds. All of that size is in an athletic package which is made evident by his 4.51 second 40 yard dash at the combine. The Eagles will likely be excited to see what he can do on Sundays and hopefully he can mitigate some of the losses from Derek Barnett’s departure.
This injury is definitely not what Philadelphia needed right now and should only increase the odds that Philadelphia makes a trade before the deadline. The Eagles have been linked with everyone from Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell to Broncos’ cornerback Bradley Roby. General Manager Howie Roseman knows that he needs to inject some life into this team and it will most likely come in a trade of some sort in the coming weeks.
Featured image by Stew Milne of USA TODAY Sports
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