The Philadelphia Eagles continue to remake their defense, one mid-priced free agent at a time. So much for drafting and developing.
The latest pickup is a pass rusher who should be just hitting his prime. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the Eagles added Connor Barwin on a six-year, $36 million contract in which he's able to earn up to $40 million. Barwin is guaranteed $8 million in the first two years of the deal and will be paid $13.5 million in the first three.
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The Eagleslater confirmed the news, and the outside linebacker tweeted his reaction using a Boyz II Men song.
The Eagles are buying low on Barwin, like they have with a lot of their free-agent pickups. Barwin was set to make a huge sum in free agency ... if he hit free agency a season ago. But he turned down a long-term deal from the Houston Texans and struggled through a miserable 2012 campaign.
The Eagles are transitioning to a 3-4 defense, even if they won't admit it publicly. Barwin adds another edge rusher for them, along with Brandon Graham and Trent Cole. (Although we wonder if Cole's future is secure.)
This moves follows Philadelphia's five pickups Tuesday, not to mention the signings of cornerback Cary Williams and safety Kenny Phillips on Thursday. The Eagles have an entirely new starting secondary, and Barwin adds a new starter to the front seven.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
