Philadelphia Eagles extending Josh Sweat could be bad news for 2 vets

No one will ever accuse the Philadelphia Eagles of taking days off or, even worse, being lazy. On consecutive Sundays in September, they’ve invested in the future of their offensive and defensive lines.

There isn’t an NFL leadership structure or coaching staff that believes its team will be consistently successful if they aren’t good in the trenches, and heading into their second game of the 2021 regular season, just one week after extending Jordan Mailata with a four-year, $64 million deal (that includes $40.85 million guaranteed), the Birds announced that they’re inking another of their young stars.

Take a look:

Good for Josh Sweat! And, yes, this is definitely good for the Eagles organization. Let’s get into some specifics.

Here are three reactions after the Philadelphia Eagles extend Josh Sweat.

1. Might the Philadelphia Eagles finally increase Sweat’s role?

Okay, we get it. Derek Barnett was the 14th-overall selection in 2017’s NFL Draft. He’s making a ton of money, $10 million in 2021 to be exact, but who are we kidding? Sweat is the better player and may wind up being the better pro.

Sure, we can understand why Barnett’s on the field so much, but Barnett played 44 percent of the defense’s snaps in Week 1 (32 total) compared to Sweat, who was on the field for 40 snaps (55 percent of Philly’s total in Week 1.

A shift may be occurring along the Birds’ defensive line.

2. What does this mean for Derek Barnett?

We may be witnessing the final 16 games of Derek Barnett’s Eagles career beginning in Week 2. He’s had a couple of splash plays here and there during his career, but when a team invests a top-15 pick into a prospect, that team isn’t looking for ‘splash plays’ or ‘here and there’.

Sweat has been more consistent. Don’t think that Philly extending him before Barnett doesn’t mean anything.

3. Is Brandon Graham’s future in any question?

One of the other Eagles veterans that we’ve asked about has been Brandon Graham. He’s spent every one of his 12 seasons in Philadelphia, but after a Pro Bowl season in 2020 (his first), Philly only signed B.G. to a one-year deal.

It may be wise to believe that the Birds are pondering whether or not it’s time to move on from their legend, but inking Graham to a team-friendly extension that allows him to retire as an Eagle may not be out of the realm of possibility.