Barnett reportedly facing shoulder surgery

PHILADELPHIA >> Add another position to the Eagles’ needs as they search for help before the Oct. 30 trade deadline.

Starting defensive end Derek Barnett, the centerpiece of the 2017 draft, will miss the rest of the season as he’s scheduled for shoulder surgery, according to an ESPN report. The Eagles would neither confirm nor deny the report that broke Tuesday afternoon. Perhaps head coach Doug Pederson addresses it Wednesday.

With 2½ sacks in six games, Barnett (6-3, 259) wasn’t headed for the Pro Bowl. But he was a valuable snaps-eater, enabling the Eagles to keep their fleet of over-30 defensive ends fresher. Two of those veterans, Brandon Graham (30) and Michael Bennett, who’s a couple of weeks shy of his 33rd birthday, also were taking snaps on passing downs at defensive tackle, where the Birds are shorthanded.

The Barnett news broke minutes after Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz addressed the media Tuesday. Schwartz, nonetheless, isn’t ready to panic. He thinks the Eagles will get back to their roots as a takeaway team. The Eagles have just four interceptions and two fumble recoveries this season. They’ve turned the ball over 10 times for a minus-4 giveaway-takeaway ratio.

“There are two things we can do as a defense,” Schwartz said. “One is hold the score down, and No. 2 is put our offense in position to score, or score ourselves. And that’s a thing that was a common theme for us last year that we haven’t really been able to get our feet under us this year in creating those game-changing plays.”

In addition to defensive end, the Eagles could use a field-stretching deep threat, a shutdown cornerback, a running back, a defensive tackle and another veteran safety. Other than that, everything’s A-OK, right?

What front office bosses Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas must decide is whether the Eagles are what their 3-4 record suggests they are, or whether it’s worth using assets to chase outside help in an effort to defend their Super Bowl title.

The Eagles have eight picks in the upcoming draft, including two second-rounders. They’ll likely have 11 picks overall, as compensatory choices loom for defensive linemen Vinny Curry and Beau Allen, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and tight end Trey Burton, who is having a huge season with the Chicago Bears.

Khalil Mack isn’t on the market, much less affordable for the Eagles. The serviceable defensive ends are mostly on teams in teardown modes. Some have had off-the-field issues. The short list could be topped by Dante Fowler (6-3, 255), the sixth-overall pick in the 2015 draft who hasn’t lived up to his hype after missing his rookie season in Jacksonville with a torn ACL.

Fowler got eight sacks last year basically because quarterbacks were running away from Calais Campbell, who had 14½ sacks. Campbell’s impetus earned the Jaguars their distinction as Sacksonville.

Fowler has just two sacks in six games this season, which didn’t exactly get off on the right foot when he was suspended for a week in training camp after getting violent with a teammate. The trade dynamic should add to the EaglesJaguars game atmosphere Sunday in London, England.

Another name on trade lists is Shane Ray (6-3, 245), who has one sack and one forced fumble with the Denver Broncos. Ray had eight sacks in the 2016 season, the Broncos’ last winning campaign. Ray reportedly has survived a marijuana citation and a game-day brawl in his short career.

Then there is Bruce Irvin (6-3, 250), who has three sacks and one forced fumble for the Oakland Raiders. He signed with the Raiders after the 2015 season. He’d be reunited with Michael Bennett, his teammate with the Seattle Seahawks. Irvin, 30, was a first-round pick out of West Virginia in 2012.

The Raiders recently shipped wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick. The Eagles reportedly offered the Raiders a second-rounder for Cooper, considered a deep threat.

The Eagles are among several teams that have inquired about Patrick Peterson, the 28-year-old shutdown cornerback who reportedly has asked the Arizona Cardinals to trade him. The Cardinals are rumored to have asked for a couple of first-round choices. If the Birds still want a receiver with deep speed, Terrelle Pryor might suit their purposes. He’s almost healed from a groin injury, per reports, that led to him being released by the New York Jets.

The Eagles were interested in signing Pryor two years ago. He chose the Washington Redskins. Pryor signed a one-year $4.5 million deal with the Jets. He had 14 receptions for 235 yards (16.9-yard average) and two touchdowns in six games with the Jets.

Although the Eagles are said to have shown interest in Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, they have a better version of a big wideout in Alshon Jeffery. The 30-year-old Thomas (63, 229) has 33 receptions for 372 yards and three TDs in seven games this season.

Cornerback Chris Harris, who has made a couple of All-Pro teams for the Broncos, would be an intriguing acquisition, too. The edgy veteran is a leader on and off the field. The Broncos also are said to be listening to offers for cornerback Bradley Roby, who’s not nearly as good.

The Eagles inquired about running back LeSean McCoy, whom they drafted in the second round in 2009 and has a checkered off the field past. The safety position is thin, although Deone Bucannon (6-1, 211), who doesn’t fit the 3-4 scheme of the Cardinals, could be a fit as a hybrid safety-linebacker with the Eagles.

Pumphrey signed

The Eagles signed Donnell Pumphrey, their second fourth-round pick in 2017, to the practice squad.

Pumphrey (5-8, 176) spent one week on the Eagles during his rookie season but wasn’t active. He went on injured reserve with a hamstring issue the following week and didn’t make the team this season. Pumphrey spent September on the practice squad of the Lions, who released him.

At San Diego State, Pumphrey broke the FBS career rushing record with 6,405 yards.