The San Francisco 49ers were in early discussions with the Philadelphia Eagles to acquire DE Connor Barwin before he was released on Thursday morning. Barwin is now free to sign with any interested NFL team.
The Eagles and Niners had some preliminary trade discussions about Connor Barwin, so San Francisco would make sense as one suitor.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 9, 2017
The release of Barwin, who struggled last season, saves the Eagles $7.75 million in cap space. Barwin, 30, was selected in the second round out of Cincinnati by the Houston Texans in the 2009 NFL Draft. His rookie season in Houston was 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's final year there as an offensive coordinator.
Roster Move: #Eagles release DE Connor Barwin. pic.twitter.com/tTiiAIUck7
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 9, 2017
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was Houston's assistant linebackers coach during Barwin's first two seasons (2009-2010) in the NFL so there is some familiarity there as well.
Barwin was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2014 when he had a career-high 64 tackles and 14.5 sacks. In 2016, he had just 34 tackles and five sacks through 16 games. Since joining the Eagles in 2013, Barwin has racked up 31.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
"Connor Barwin is a tremendous teammate, player and an even better person," said Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman via a statement issued by the team. "He represented the Philadelphia Eagles with class and integrity for the past four seasons and we appreciate his efforts both on and off the field. It's rare to come across a player who invests so much of himself in the locker room, as a leader on the field, and with his relentless work ethic. His work in the community will have a lasting impact on our city that we can all be very proud of. Obviously this was a difficult decision for us but we wish him and his family all the best. On behalf of all of us we just wanted to say thank you and we all hope that our paths cross again in the future."