The Linc – It’s looking like Derek Barnett doesn’t have a future in Philly

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 10/7/21.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles DE Derek Barnett isn’t doing anything, with gifs and stuff – PhillyVoice
In 2020, the Eagles exercised Barnett’s fifth-year option. His salary would be $10,051,000 in 2021, but it was not guaranteed until the first day of the new league year, which was in March. Before that date, the Eagles had one of three options with Barnett: 1) Keep him at $10,051,000 for one year. 2) Release him. 3) Try to sign him to a contract extension. Obviously, they chose option No. 1. Based on Barnett’s play so far in 2021, that is looking like a mistake. It is also worth noting that the Eagles took $9,061,000 of Barnett’s salary in 2021 and converted it into a signing bonus, lowering his cap number in 2021 from $10,051,000 to $2,802,200, but kicking the can down the road on $7,248,800 that will count toward the cap in the future. They also likely stripped away any possible trade opportunities for Barnett, in the event some other team lost edge rushers to injury and became desperate for help. Looking forward, if Barnett continues to play anywhere near the level he has played so far in 2021, it should be a no-brainer for the Eagles to move on from him in 2022.

Eagles first-quarter report: Storylines, surprises and what to watch in October – The Athletic
Surprising in a bad way: Derek Barnett: Penalties aside, I thought Barnett would at least be a steady edge rusher. He’s 25, in a contract year and playing on the fifth-year option. It’s kind of been like Nelson Agholor on his fifth-year option — not nearly enough production for the opportunities and not enough improvement for such a key player.

Weapon X Mailbag: Who is to blame for the Eagles’ defensive woes? – BGN
I was sipping the Gannon Kool-Aid this offseason. Maybe it’s a personnel thing and that goes back to the front office, but that’s a line where fans think, “Uhhh, I really hope this guy knows what he’s doing.” Trying to put a linebacker on Tyreek Hill feels bad, right? Gannon’s defense did look very good in the first two games of the season though. Perhaps not coincidentally, those are the two games that Graham played in before his season ended with a torn Achilles tendon.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.25: Figuring Things Out at Week 5 – BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa recap the Eagles, Cowboys, Giants and Washington Football team’s Week 4 action and discuss each teams current standings in the division.

NFL Week 5: Key matchups and storylines for all 16 games – PFF
Biggest Storyline: Can Philadelphia gash the Panthers on the ground the same way Dallas did? The Cowboys took control of their game last week against Carolina on the ground, averaging a league-high 6.7 yards per run play. The Eagles rank third in average yards per run play this season, behind only Dallas and Cleveland. Having a quarterback who poses a threat as a runner like Jalen Hurts along with an offensive line that can open up sizable running lanes at full strength gives the Eagles an opportunity to follow a similar blueprint on offense.

Jalen Hurts: ‘When it clicks, it’s going to be real pretty’ – PE.com
At 1-3, the Eagles are hungry for a win. They opened the season with an impressive win at Atlanta, had San Francisco on the ropes in a narrow defeat, had very little go their way in a loss at Dallas, and then failed too many times in the red zone against Kansas City on Sunday to beat one of the best teams the NFL has to offer. This is the way things go for a team that is young in key spots, including the coaching staff: The bright spots are there and they flash, but the key is consistency for 60 minutes. That’s what is required to win in this league. And that’s what the Eagles are striving to accomplish: four quarters of outstanding football. “We’re going to continue to learn. We’re going to continue to grow,” Hurts said. “It’s going to click and when it does, it’s going to be real pretty.”

It’s time for Eagles to use Davion Taylor more – NBCSP
Maybe Taylor won’t be better than the linebackers the Eagles have been playing to this point. But if the Eagles have a choice between getting bad linebacker play from Eric Wilson on a one-year deal or from a young linebacker like Taylor, they might as well get Taylor some more snaps and let him learn on the job. Because in small doses, Taylor has actually done some good things this year. He has just 18 defensive snaps but has five tackles already. If nothing else, Taylor is fast and rallies to the ballcarrier. He could also become a big-time contributor on special teams, although that hasn’t happened yet either. As he comes back from the injury, Taylor played just seven special teams snaps against the Chiefs but still managed to have a tackle on the Eagles’ first kickoff.

Mailbag: What Should Shad Khan Do About Urban Meyer? – Sports Illustrated
I believe Josh McDaniels has a tremendous opportunity this year to wedge his name back into the conversation—a year after interest in hiring him as a second-chance candidate waned a bit. McDaniels had the Colts job in 2018 before backing out, and was right there with Kevin Stefanski for the Browns job in ’20. Last year, he nearly got the Eagles job, but Philly was really the only team that even kicked the tires on him.

Panthers trade for corner Stephon Gilmore – Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers have sent a 2023 6th round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for cornerback Stephon Gilmore. The Panthers will assume his remaining contract liabilities and have the opportunity to negotiate an extension prior to the beginning of free agency this year. [BLG Note: Gilmore is ineligible to play against the Eagles since he can’t be activated from the PUP list until Week 7 at the earliest.]

State of the NFC East: Every team but Philadelphia won in Week 4 – Blogging The Boys
The win against the aforementioned Atlanta Falcons feels like oh so long ago, and having a lot of points put up on them has certainly made Eagles fans feel some sort of way. Consider that in back-to-back weeks the Eagles have allowed over 40 points to be scored where (as Brandon Gowton mentioned on this week’s episode of the NFC East Mixtape) that only happened one time in 86 games under former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. It is still early in the Nick Sirianni era and way too soon to make any sort of harsh judgment, but there are a lot of weird things happening with this team right now which has him under fire. Consider that some of their more veteran players are picking up a lot of penalties and hurting the team which shouldn’t be happening.

Giants vs. Cowboys: 5 story lines for critical NFC East game – Big Blue View
A factor in the division? By beating the Saints last Sunday, the Giants gave themselves a chance to be relevant this season. Make no mistake, though, at 1-3 they are in a deep hole. Sunday will go a long way toward telling us if they have a realistic chance of climbing out. The Cowboys lead the NFC East at 3-1. If the Giants win, they would be a game out of first place with 12 games to play. If they lose, they would be 1-4 with a Rams-Panthers-Chiefs-Raiders-Buccaneers gauntlet coming up. If the Giants want a chance to be playing meaningful football in December and January, they would be well advised to win this game.

Washington Football Team vs New Orleans Saints Wednesday Injury Report – Hogs Haven
For the first time this season, Washington has a bigger injury report than their opponent, and it’s not even close. They went to Atlanta as one of the healthiest teams in the league, and they were getting back their unhealthiest player(Curtis Samuel). They left with 3 players going to IR and 12 players on this week’s report. A few of them are lingering injuries, including Samuel’s groin issue.

The Good, Bad and Ugly From the Colts’ Week 4 Win Over Miami – Stampede Blue
How can we not start by talking about Wentz’s performance Sunday? While he certainly didn’t play ‘lights out,’ Wentz looked much more comfortable and his played proved it, as he went 24-of-32 for 228 yards and tossed 2 touchdowns. Now, Indy’s quarterback was far from perfect. Wentz missed a few pivotal throws which could’ve extended a few drives and potentially led to more points. On the flipside, though, Wentz also made some incredible plays, like the 3rd and 14 throw to Pittman late in the game where he sidestepped a Dolphin defender and delivered a strike to big-bodied wideout. Without question, there’s room for improvement, but the Colts had to have liked what they saw from their quarterback Sunday afternoon.

2 QBs to start and 2 QBs to fade in Week 5 fantasy football – DraftKings Nation
Carson Wentz, Colts vs. Ravens. Wentz is starting to find his footing in the Indianapolis offense and is entering streaming territory in most fantasy leagues. A Monday night matchup with the Ravens is not the spot to ride with Wentz, especially after what Baltimore’s defense did to Teddy Bridgewater last week. The Colts are a run-heavy team and will lean on that formula in this game. Fade Wentz in Week 5.

Packers sign CB Rasul Douglas off Cardinals practice squad – Acme Packing Company
The Green Bay Packers made a move at cornerback, but not the one you heard about this morning. Shortly after the Carolina Panthers traded for New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who Sports Illustrated’s Alber Breer claimed wanted to play in Green Bay, the Packers picked up cornerback Rasul Douglas off of the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. Douglas, who is in Green Bay today practicing with the team, was originally a third-round pick made by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. He was waived during final cuts in 2020, was picked up by the Carolina Panthers, and has played in 60 total NFL regular-season games in his career. 29 of those were starts, including 11 last season, his career-high.

Roster Moves: Jaguars sign RB Wendell Smallwood to practice squad – Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed RB Wendell Smallwood to the practice squad, the team announced today. Smallwood was originally drafted by Philadelphia in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent the first three years of his career with the Eagles, before playing with Washington and, most recently, Pittsburgh in 2020. His career totals include 53 games played with 233 rushes for 931 yards and five TDs. He has also posted 56 receptions for 452 yards and two TDs.

Five Things I Think About the Miami Dolphins – Week 5 – The Phinsider
Deshaun Watson might become more than talk. I really don’t want to wade into this, but reality is leaving me little choice. Stephen Ross is 81 and wants a Superbowl, so after this week’s debacle, no amount of swinging for the fences will surprise me. I’ll summarize my thoughts (hopefully briefly) by looking at the situation from three angles.

A complete timeline of how Urban Meyer lit the Jaguars’ dumpster fire – SB Nation
I regret to inform you that the Jaguars are a mess again. Normally it takes a few months into the season to reach this determination, but the 2021 team is on a breakneck pace to destroy themselves. It begins and ends with Urban Meyer, the controversial coaching hire that set all this in motion. While it’s still early in the season, it’s feeling increasingly impossible that there’s any kind of happy ending in Jacksonville. So let’s stroll down disappointing memory lane to see how we reached this point.

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