Eagles DE Derek Barnett reportedly had sports hernia surgery after Super Bowl
Barnett had a strong rookie season for the Eagles and made a big impact during the Super Bowl run
The Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line was arguably the most important part of their Super Bowl-winning team. The Eagles had depth and versatility along the line, and it helped them generate a ton of sacks and pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The youngest member of that line was rookie Derek Barnett, who the Eagles drafted with their first-round selection in 2017.
Barnett had a strong rookie campaign, notching 21 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a touchdown during the regular season, and another two tackles, a sack (a huge strip-sack of Case Keenum in the NFC title game), a fumble forced, and a fumble recovered (the game-sealing Tom Brady fumble in the Super Bowl) during the playoffs. Once the year was over, however, he had to get surgery.
According to Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice, Barnett had sports hernia surgery after the Super Bowl. Per Kempski, based on the timeline provided, Barnett should already be fully healthy after the operation.
Or at least Barnett did join the list of the wounded. According to the source, the recovery period is only six weeks, and the procedure should make that area of his body stronger. Do the math, and Barnett should already be recovered.
Hopefully for the Eagles, the hernia surgery doesn't affect him at all going forward. (Given the history of those injuries, that seems likely to be the case.) Barnett should take over an even larger role on the Philadelphia defense during his second season, and with the strength and depth the Eagles still have along the line, it's reasonable to expect him to make even more of an impact.
















