Eagles waive veteran defensive end Derek Barnett

The Eagles waived veteran defensive end Derek Barnett on Friday, the team announced.

Barnett, the 14th pick in the first round of the 2017 draft, missed the past two games because of what the team described as “personal reasons.” He was listed as inactive for its games against the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.

According to Pro Football Focus, the 27-year-old pass rusher had 55 pass-rush snaps this season with no sacks and no pressures. Barnett had just three tackles.

As the season progressed, Barnett’s already limited playing time continued to dip. He logged just seven snaps during his final game against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 29. Barnett was cemented at the bottom of the depth chart behind Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham. Similar to Barnett, rookie Nolan Smith’s playing time also has been limited behind the team’s top three pass rushers.

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Barnett, who broke Reggie White’s school record for career sacks at Tennessee with 33 in his three seasons there, ends his six-plus seasons with the Eagles with 73 games played (45 starts), 21½ sacks, and 150 tackles. He suffered a torn ACL in the 2022 season opener and missed the rest of the season.

From 2017 through 2021, Barnett accumulated 26 penalties, including 11 personal fouls. In 2021, Nick Sirianni’s first season as the Eagles’ coach, he was famously caught on a TV broadcast reacting to a Barnett penalty by saying, “It’s always him!”

Aside from his reputation for drawing flags, Barnett will be most remembered for recovering Graham’s strip-sack of the Patriots’ Tom Brady near the end of Super Bowl LII to help secure the Eagles’ only Super Bowl title to date.

Graham, a 14-year Eagle who is the city’s longest-tenured professional athlete, was caught by surprise at the conclusion of Friday’s practice when he was informed Barnett had been waived.

“Man ... DB was hard-core, hard-nosed, he was going to give you everything he’s got,” Graham said. “I’m proud of how he handled the whole situation. I know that DB is a real one. I’m happy that both parties can come to a mutual agreement on some things and I hope he goes out there [with another NFL team] and kills it. The business side [stinks], but every time you have to make the best decision for your family.

“We’re always tied in as family. Whenever the Eagles invite the 2017 [Super Bowl] team to come back, I’m going to call him and say, ‘Bring your butt back! I know it didn’t happen the way you wanted it to, but you still got a ring. You still got some good things out of it.’ Hopefully he keeps balling wherever else he goes. I wish DB the best. We’re always going to talk because that’s my guy.”

The Eagles (9-1) host the Buffalo Bills (6-5) at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.