The Cleveland Browns have signed defensive end Derek Barnett of Nashville, Tennessee according to Rogers Sportsnet on Sunday. The terms of the contract are for one year and $5.5 million.
The Browns were in need of anothe/r defender because defensive end Alex Wright of Elba, Alabama ruptured his Achilles tendon on Thursday in a joint practice Cleveland had with the Buffalo Bills. As a result, Wright will be gone for the remainder of the 2026 National Football League season according to Ryan O’Leary of Yahoo! Sports.
Tbis is the second season ending injury during a joint practice. Last week, Jayden Higgins tore his ACL while the Houston Texans had a joint practice session with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Barnett, who is nicknamed The Savage, will be joining his third NFL franchise. He has played seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2017 to 2023, and three seasons with the Houston Texans from 2023 to 2025.
In 2025 with the Texans, Barnett had 21 combined tackles (13 solo tackles and eight assisted tackles), eight tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hits, and five sacks. During his rookie season, Barnett won a Super Bowl with the Eagles. In a high-scoring championship game on February 4, 2018, the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33. Barnett’s most memorable play during Super Bowl LII was a fumble recovery for -3 yards.
To keep with the fumble recovery theme, Barnett led the NFL in 2024 with two touchdowns during the regular season on fumble recoveries. He had two fumble recoveries with the Texans for 64 yards. The first was for 38 yards and came in a 34-10 Texans win over the Dallas Cowboys on November 18, 2024, and the second was for 36 yards and came in a 23-14 Texans win over the Tennessee Titans on January 5, 2025.
In 2025 with the Browns, Wright had 37 combined tackles (21 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles), 12 tackles for a loss, nine quarterback hits, one pass deflection, one forced fumble and 5.5 sacks.
