Evan Mathis didn’t get a new contract from the Eagles. He’ll now have a chance to get one elsewhere.
Per a league source, the Eagles have released the 11-year veteran only two days after word surfaced of his unhappiness with the team’s decision to rescind an offer from 2014 to pump up the back end of his contract.
A third-round pick of the Panthers in 2005, the 33-year-old Pro Bowl guard becomes a free agent. He can sign with any team.
Mathis joined the Eagles in 2011, qualifying for the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons. The move suggests that Eagles could find no trade partner for Mathis, who was under contract through 2016.
Mathis contends that the team offered an upgrade to his deal a year ago, and that the team pulled the offer from the table, explaining that, because Howie Roseman no longer is the General Manager, the offer is no longer valid.
Mathis had been due to make $5.5 million in 2015 and $6 million in 2016. The Eagles will take a cap charge of $1 million in each of the next two seasons, but they’ll avoid the $11.5 million in cash and cap space.