Philadelphia Eagles should strongly consider Shaquil Barrett in free agency

The Philadelphia Eagles have added linebacker to the list of roles to fill this offseason, and former undrafted free agent Shaquil Barrett could be a great solution. 

As a result of the official release of veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham this week, the Philadelphia Eagles have created yet another gap in their roster headed into official free agency and the subsequent 2020 NFL Draft in April.

If the Eagles are looking to have the vacancy resolved well before the draft, and they sincerely should given the state of their linebacker squad, they should take a serious look at investing in Shaquil Barrett of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Barrett has constantly, exponentially progressed since joining the NFL six years ago.

In 2014, Barrett was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State University, spending his rookie season on the practice squad before eventually making the final 53-man roster in 2015.

From then on, Barrett transformed from a depth linebacker to an elite pass-rusher and turnover-producer, culminating in an explosive 2019 season.

On a one-year, $4 million contract for the Buccaneers last season, Barrett led the league in sacks (19.5) and QB hits (37) while finishing second in the NFL on forced fumbles (six).

To top it all off, Barrett also grabbed an interception last season as well.

Spotrac estimates the outside linebacker’s market value at over $15 million annually for next season, but Barrett has clearly earned a pay bump, and may wind up being worth well more than his current asking price if he continues his pace of development.

Releasing Bradham creates $4.5 million in cap space, bringing the Eagles’ projected total to around $45 million as free agency inches closer.

It’s understandable that fans may want to see that cash go to bigger names in more highlighted positions, but the Eagles lack of enthusiasm toward signings for the linebacker position in recent years has not paid off.

In fact, Bradham is really the only one to make any major impact at the position since his signing in 2016, and even his performance had begun to wane recently.

Part of the blame could fall on the shoulders of the Eagles’ dreadful secondary that couldn’t cover receivers long enough to allow for pass-rushing, but the rest of the blame undoubtedly falls onto the linebackers.

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said himself in Oct. 2019 that he “needs more production” from the linebackers in midnight green. Well, that didn’t happen as the season went on, and now with the release of Bradham, it’s time to make a big move.

For this to work, Philadelphia will need some help from the decisions of the Buccaneers in the coming weeks, as the soon-to-be free agent may be franchise tagged, according to reporters from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Eagles fans should have their fingers crossed that this falls through.

With veteran Bradham now out of the picture, the Eagles linebacker crew leaves a lot to be desired in terms of skill, production, and experience.

Bringing in Barrett as he comes off a league-leading year while his price tag is still reasonable could be a perfect solution to the defensively-challenged Birds, so it will be interesting to see if this scenario actually has a shot in the coming weeks.