Bears keeping tabs on former Eagles defensive end
The Chicago Bears are reportedly interested in acquiring recently waived defensive end Derek Barnett, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher was waived on Friday and is able to be claimed of the waiver wire later today. Prior to waiving Barnett, the Eagles restructured his contract leaving a cost of only $420K […]
The Chicago Bears are reportedly interested in acquiring recently waived defensive end Derek Barnett, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher was waived on Friday and is able to be claimed of the waiver wire later today. Prior to waiving Barnett, the Eagles restructured his contract leaving a cost of only $420K in base salary for the rest of the season, per ESPN's Field Yates.
During his Monday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Schefter reported that the Bears asked around for Barnett prior to the NFL Trade Deadline back in October and could still be interested in making a claim.
The waiver wire order is based on the reverse order of the current NFL standings which means the Bears would be the fourth team on waivers eligible to make a claim behind the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and New England Patriots.
The Bears already acquired one new edge rusher at the NFL Trade Deadline a few weeks back when they traded for, and extended, Montez Sweat. The team could still be in the market for premiere and veteran players at the position to help the rebuild process transition at quicker rate.
The Bears still have a massive amount of available cap space in order to bring in Barnett and potentially lock Barnett in on a new deal as well. Barnett has yet to record a sack in 2023 despite playing 20 percent of the Eagles defensive snaps. Barnett totaled 16.5 sacks during his first four seasons but only played one game in 2022.
Despite acquiring Sweat prior to Week 9, the Bears still rank last in the NFL with 15 sacks on the season leading up to Monday night. Bears general manager Ryan Poles has already been trigger happy at the position once, could he add another to Matt Eberflus' defense before the season comes to a close?
The official waiver claim announcements are expected to be released at 4:10 EST according to Schefter. Another big name to keep an eye on is former Indianapolis Colts linebacker and 3x All-Pro Shaquille Leonard who was also released on Friday.
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