Haason Reddick signing spells doom for Derek Barnett’s time with Eagles

When Derek Barnett never evolved into the player the Philadelphia Eagles had hoped, the writing was on the wall. When the leadership team made the decision to extend Josh Sweat and we never saw a deal thrown in D.B’s direction, it felt like that same writing was done with a permanent Sharpie marker, but news of Haason Reddick‘s acquisition, though it cant be made official until 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday, feels like something else.

This truly feels like the end of an era, if you can call it that. In five seasons, Derek Barnett managed 147 total tackles, 21.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 64 regular-season games with 45 starts. He added another nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in five career postseason games.

It has to be obvious now that his time is up though, and once it is, every member of the Eagles’ eight-man draft class from 2017 will be gone. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way things go sometimes.

Fear not. The upgrade at EDGE that we all hoped for is here, and we’re going to have boatloads of fun discussing him.

Haason Reddick is the pass rusher the Eagles have been lacking,

Mike Garafolo was first with the news of Philadelphia’s addition of the six-foot-one, 235-pound Haason Reddick, a man that the City of Brotherly Love is already familiar with. He played his college ball at the University of Temple with the Owls.

Reddick tallied 149 tackles, 17.5 sacks, an interception, five pass breakups, and four forced fumbles at the NCAA level before the Arizona Cardinals made him the 13th-overall selection in 2017’s NFL Draft.

Most recently, he played on a one-year prove-it deal with the Carolina Panthers after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Cardinals. A new three-year, $45 million deal with the Eagles is the definition of ‘the best bang for the buck’ in terms of what Philly hoped to do in the offseason.

It didn’t take long for Reddick to announce his approval on Twitter.

You won’t hear any complaints from this direction. This is an upgrade in every sense of the word for the Eagles’ defensive line.

Here’s a bold prediction if you’re searching for one (or even if you aren’t. Haason Reddick’s three years in Philadelphia will lead to more production in every important defensive statistical category than we got from Mr. Barnett.

Reddick is everything the Birds thought they were getting from D.B., and here’s what’s funny. Arizona took him one spot earlier than Philadelphia took Barnett in the 2017 NFL Draft.