The Houston Texans have landed a former Philadelphia Eagles star and Super Bowl 52 champion to help with their late-season playoff push.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Texans have claimed veteran pass-rusher Derek Barnett off waivers from the Eagles. Barnett was let go by the NFC East leaders after they were unable to find a trade partner for the disgruntled standout.
Barnett has seen his usage decrease on a stacked Philadelphia front seven led by veterans Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat and rising young stars Jordan Davis and rookie Jalen Carter.
But he should get more playing time on a Houston defense that has shown tremendous improvement under rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans. After ranking 27th in scoring a year ago (24.7 points allowed per game), the Texans sit 14th in that category (21.1 points allowed per game) with Ryans leading the way.
Barnett’s biggest play came in the Eagles’ Super Bowl 52 win over the New England Patriots, where he recovered Brandon Graham’s forced fumble off of Tom Brady. The Eagles (leading 38-33 at the time) tackled on a field goal and held off a late Brady comeback for a 41-33 win.
Barnett had zero sacks in eight games for the Eagles this year before getting waived. The 27-year-old has 21.5 career sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 73 NFL games.
