5 Philadelphia Eagles players destined to break out in 2017

Dec 4, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills (31) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 32-14. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills (31) against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 32-14. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry (75) celebrates his sack of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Mark Sanchez (3) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Cowboys, 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Vinny Curry

Curry isn’t exactly in good graces with the Eagles fanbase at the moment. Last offseason, the Eagles signed Curry to a five-year contract extension worth up to $47.5 million. How did he respond? By recording a grand total of just 2.5 sacks the entire season.

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That’s not a great way to respond after receiving such a hefty raise.

However, Curry recently revealed that he had suffered an MCL injury prior to the Eagles’ Week 1 contest against the Cleveland Browns, which obviously prohibited him from playing to his full potential. Despite the injury, he still managed to put significant pressure on opposing quarterbacks. According to Pro Football Focus, Curry pressured opposing quarterbacks 40 times on 282 pass rush attempts.

Rookie Derek Barnett has reportedly impressed during OTAs. If he continues to play well in practice, Curry could see a smaller amount of reps in 2017. That should be familiar to him, though. Especially after sacking opposing quarterbacks nine times primarily as a rotational defensive end in 2014.