The Philadelphia Eagles have released offensive lineman Evan Mathis, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Mathis, a two-time Pro Bowler, was in the midst of a holdout as he was looking for a bigger contract. The Eagles have maintained that Mathis is paid fairly.
Mathis missed all of Philadelphia's voluntary offseason program and most thought he was set to miss the team's upcoming mandatory minicamp on top of that. It's worth noting, however, that Mathis claims he was going to participate in the camp, telling Geoff Mosher of Comcast SportsNet that he already had his flight booked.
Mathis also skipped voluntary workouts last season and even got permission from the Eagles to seek a trade, though nothing materialized from that. When the NFL Draft was happening, there were more rumors of a potential trade, but it was obvious the two sides were heading for divorce.
Mathis is coming off back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons, despite missing eight games with a sprained MCL in 2014. It's this missed time that has given the Eagles the most pause in potentially reworking Mathis' deal and giving him more money. He had two years remaining on his contract, with a cap hit of $6.5 million in 2015 and $7 million in 2016. That money put him well below the top-paid guards in the league, with the highest being Logan Mankins' $8.5 million per season average.
Although the Eagles weren't able to trade Mathis, the 33-year-old will likely find a new home soon with a team that needs offensive line help:
Evan Mathis was our top graded OG from 2011-13, and was 2nd last year in just 9 games. Best OG in the game now available. #OnYourMarks
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) June 11, 2015
The Eagles continue to undergo massive change this offseason. The team also released right guard Todd Herremans earlier in the offseason, so injury-prone quarterback Sam Bradford will be playing behind a pair of new guards in 2015.