Over the weekend, it was reported that the Miami Dolphins were interested in former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett.
They reportedly acted on that interest by putting in a waiver claim for the one-time Super Bowl champ. However, he wound up with the Houston Texans due to them having a higher waiver priority.
In addition to the Texans, the Dolphins also put in a claim to acquire Derek Barnett, per source.
Houston had higher waiver priority than Miami, who would have reunited Barnett with Vic Fangio and added some depth after the team lost Jaelan Phillips to an Achilles injury. https://t.co/UNsoRAZGGH
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 27, 2023
The waiver order is the inverse of how the NFL standings are. Therefore, Houston is ahead of Miami in the waiver order.
The Dolphins are currently 8-3 on the season and sit in first place in the AFC East. The Texans are right in the playoff race in the AFC at 6-5 behind stellar play from C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Miami would’ve been able to get Barnett for cheap, as the Eagles restructured his deal before waiving him.
Prior to waiving Derek Barnett, the Eagles restructured his contract (converting salary into a bonus), which means if a team claims Barnett today it would cost just $420K in base salary for the rest of the season, plus small per-game roster bonuses.
Reasonable price for an edge…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 27, 2023
Barnett would’ve been a solid addition to Miami’s defense, as the unit recently lost edge rusher Jaelan Phillips for the rest of the season to an Achilles injury. The University of Miami product, who also dealt with injuries earlier this season, had been making a big impact for the Dolphins.
In eight games, Phillips recorded 43 combined tackles, 6.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss and one interception. He has a long road ahead to make it back on the field but seems to be in good spirits.
The 27-year-old Barnett has played in eight games this season, seeing a total of only 99 defensive snaps. He’s recorded just three combined tackles and one tackle for loss, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of an impact he makes in Houston.
Miami and Houston aren’t scheduled to face off against each other in what remains of the regular season, but they could easily end up playing one another in the playoffs.
As far as playoff positioning goes, Miami is currently fourth in the AFC. Houston is in eighth place and just missing out on a playoff spot.
As it stands right now, the Dolphins would host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the playoffs. Miami has some tough games still to go against some of the better teams in the league, including the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.
The Dolphins defense has seen a resurgence in recent weeks that was seemingly inspired in part by a string of text messages. Even so, one has to imagine that plenty of people within the Dolphins organization are disappointed Barnett won’t be able to further boost the unit.
