Philadelphia Eagles: Connor Barwin sells himself as another Chris Long

Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin could see himself becoming just like Chris Long.

It’s been a few years since veteran defensive end Connor Barwin donned the Philadelphia Eagles midnight green. In 2016, Barwin played his fourth and final season in Philly where he notched five sacks, ten quarterback hits, and 34 combination tackles. His season wasn’t bad, but it was becoming clear the Eagles needed to start going younger at the position.

So for the 2017 season, the Eagles got rid of Barwin to save the team close to $8 million in cap space. Then, they went out and drafted defensive end, Derek Barnett in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. During that same offseason, the Eagles also added former Patriots and Rams defensive end, Chris Long. Clearly, the Eagles didn’t miss Barwin much as they won the Super Bowl in that season without him up front.

That’s not to say that Barwin’s absence helped them — but it was clear the Eagles were quite happy with their pass-rushing situation. Hence the reason why they didn’t give Barwin a second chance, even when he became a free agent once again in 2018.

However, the Eagles are all for second chances nowadays. Not only did they bring DeSean Jackson back, but they also brought back defensive end Vinny Curry just one season after releasing him. Now, Barwin wants his shot at coming back to the Eagles for the 2019 NFL season as well.

Is there room for Barwin in Philly?

For the 2019 season, the Eagles were expected to have veteran defensive end, Chris Long on board for one more year. Unfortunately, Long wanted to retire after two successful seasons in Philly. Therefore, the Eagles drafted defensive end Shareef Miller in the fourth round. Now, the Eagles have Barnett and Curry rotating on one side along with Graham and whoever wins the battle of the unproven between Josh Sweat and Miller on the other side.

Say the Eagles aren’t satisfied with Sweat or Miller though — could they go and get a proven veteran such as Barwin for an affordable price? It sure sounds like it. At this point, Barwin just wants to play. But he has made it very clear that if he does play again, he wants it to be in Philly.

He said it a couple of weeks back, and recently he doubled-down on his desire to return. This time, selling himself as a ‘Chris Long-type’ of player for them, according to Glenn Erby.

"“The roster is awesome. They look like they should be in the playoffs again. They have a chance at the Super Bowl, so I feel like this is the perfect situation for me. I can be kind of like how Chris (Long) was the past couple of years. Kind of that fourth edge rusher, if someone gets hurt, I’m there you can trust me to know what I’m doing.”"

In 2017, Long played just under 50-percent of the defensive snaps for the Eagles. The following year, he took on a larger role with closer to 60-percent of the snaps due to injuries on the defensive line. So if Barwin were to come back, he would likely see somewhere between 30 to 40-percent of the defensive snaps, depending on if he beats out the other two guys or not.

If Barwin is willing to sign at a very generous price, then obviously it is something the Eagles should look into. After all, they are a win-now team with two unproven young guys subbing in for Graham. Unfortunately, Barwin’s campaign for Philly to sign him might not last long enough for the Eagles to get him when they want to.

Barwin has been waiting for the Eagles to make an offer, but they might not do so until they see what they got in Miller and Sweat. If they wait too long, the veteran defensive end might find himself a new team by then. We’ll see what happens as Barwin continues to try and convince the Philly front office to give his reps a call.