Eagles can sign any of these possible free agents to replace Derek Barnett
. . Solomon Thomas, Raiders. 2. player. 28.
The Eagles got a first-hand look at Solomon Thomas in Week 7.
Solomon Thomas is one of those names that NFL fans just recognize even if they’re unfamiliar with any of his accomplishments over the past few seasons. He too was a first-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft having been taken third-overall by the San Francisco 49ers that year.
He recorded 99 tackles and 10.5 sacks as a member of the Niners, but they declined the fifth-year option on his rookie deal (as the Eagles should have done with Barnett). That decision worked in their favor. Thomas tore his ACL in Week 2 of that season, and just like that his run in the bay was over without costing San Fran an arm and a leg.
The Raiders signed him to a one-year deal on March 19th of this year. Yep! You guessed it guys and gals! That was shortly after the time we learned officially that they were ridding themselves of Takkarist McKinley. Again, we mentioned Takkarist earlier, but you have to keep thinking of him on this Eagles team in that ‘low-risk’ and ‘high-reward’ vein.
Solomon is a much better player than McKinley (or Barnett), and he seems to have turned things around following the injury. He had 28 total tackles and 3.5 sacks heading into Week 14. Philadelphia got a chance to give him a look in Week 7, but he didn’t have a huge statistical performance in that one. Then again, he didn’t have to.
The Raiders ran roughshod over the Birds on an afternoon where Philly barely had the football. Trust us on this one though. Thomas would upgrade the Eagles’ crop of defensive ends very quickly. He might even eclipse both Josh Sweat and Tarron Jackson on the depth chart.
That isn’t meant to be disrespectful to Sweat or Jackson. We’re just stating the facts here.