We noted earlier that the main criticism of the Ryan Kerrigan signing seems to be from fans and media who believe that he’ll take playing time away from younger guys.

There might be some truth to that, though it’s hard to know until we play the games and get the snap count numbers. For all we know, the 32 year old Kerrigan might only play 15-20 snaps per game. It’s a TBD kind of take.

But that’s the angle Jon Ritchie is going with:

I transcribed some of Ritchie’s comments that he opened the midday show with:

“I do not agree with this approach. I think Ryan Kerrigan was once a really solid player who had his best games, it just so happened, against us. And now he’s reaping the benefits. I think that’s a mistake….he’s always been a try-hard guy, not the kind of guy who strikes fear into the heart of an offense. Howie the fanboy decided that the guy who did well against the Eagles in the past had to be an Eagle. I’m troubled by the fact that it seems like we’re trying to win this year, by bringing in a guy who has got maybe two years max left on the tires. Probably a year left. You just spent your whole wad on this guy, who is 33 years old (sic – he turns 33 in August) and has had five sacks the last two years. When you’ve got other needs, pressing needs, I might add. Why did you feel the need to go and compete with the Steelers, it’s been reported, with the Bengals, it’s been reported?”

…

“I have a problem every snap that he takes away from Josh Sweat. I want Josh Sweat to be the guy we’re building behind for the future.”

This isn’t a hot take, but it does raise an interesting point, RE: Sweat, and warrants further investigation.

Let’s go look at some past snap counts for context here, and remember, with a new defensive coordinator, we’re not entirely sure if the Eagles are going to rotate defensive linemen the way they did under Jim Schwartz. There could be a shift in that area.

But in 2020, among defensive ends:

  • Brandon Graham – 758 snaps (69%)*
  • Derek Barnett – 535 snaps (49%)
  • Josh Sweat – 421 snaps (38%)
  • Vinny Curry – 310 snaps (28%)
  • Genard Avery – 126 snaps (11%)

And in 2019, the defensive ends:

  • Brandon Graham – 775 snaps (76%)*
  • Derek Barnett – 695 snaps (69%)
  • Vinny Curry – 393 snaps (38%)
  • Josh Sweat – 353 snaps (34%)
  • Daeshon Hall – 50 snaps (5%)

One thing worth noting is that the Eagles would stack defensive ends on the interior during 3rd and long situations, so some of Brandon Graham’s snaps have taken place at defensive tackle.* Keep that in the back of your head.

But over the last two seasons, Sweat has played between 34 and 38% of the snaps. He ate into Barnett’s snaps last season and there’s no reason to think that he can’t do the same this year. If anything, Kerrigan and Sweat could go both go into the 40% range for snaps and 33 year old Graham sees a reduction in playing time along with Barnett, who is out of contract after the season.

Another thing to look at is Ryan Kerrigan’s playing time over the years.

It goes

  • 2020 – 397 snaps (38%)
  • 2019 – 642 snaps (57%)
  • 2018 – 819 snaps (79%)

He’s on a steady decline that now puts him right into that Curry/Sweat range. Legitimately, he could be considered the fourth DE on this team if Jonathan Gannon and Tracy Rocker look at the rotation the same way Jim Schwartz did.

Bottom line – Josh Sweat probably will not see a reduction in playing time at the expense of getting Kerrigan on the field. You could justify getting Sweat into the 50% range if you’re willing to dial back BG and Barnett, who aren’t locked in to long term contracts.