Philadelphia Eagles: 2 Reasons Derek Barnett’s option wasn’t a wise move

The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t seen enough results from Derek Barnett.

What does the future hold for defensive end Derek Barnett? The Philadelphia Eagles surely have to be asking the same question when they think about their plans for the former Tennesse product, even if they don’t do so publicly. If they aren’t they should after his latest injury.

The injury bug has bitten its share of ‘Birds’ in recent seasons, and so far, this year has been no different. This past Monday, teams all around the NFL started padded practices and injury updates began popping up everywhere. Two of the more newsworthy, from am Eagles standpoint, have been those suffered by newly acquired defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who’s dealing with a pectoral strain, and Barnett who has an ankle sprain.

The immediate questions are whether Hargrave will be ready for the season opener and how disappointed everyone should be with Barnett’s latest setback. The latter has been designated with a status of ‘week-to-week’ will likely return before the former

In terms of Hargrave, every practice rep that he misses will is one less opportunity to establish himself as a cornerstone of the team’s defensive line. As far as Barnett goes, he should be a cornerstone of the defense already. Here are two reasons that exercising his fifth-year option wasn’t a wise move.