The changing of the guard is happening with the Philadelphia Eagles across the board as Doug Pederson and his new coaching staff are starting to put their stamp on the team. As of about two hours ago, one of those stamps sent a veteran packing.
The #Eagles have released LB DeMeco Ryans, who was due $3.5M in salary.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 24, 2016
The Eagles have officially released linebacker DeMeco Ryans, ending the two-time Pro Bowler’s tenure as the team’s middle linebacker. It’s sad to see him go, but it’s the right move the Eagles had to make.
By cutting Ryans, the Eagles clear $3.5 million of cap space. That’s going to come in handy real soon if you expect more extensions and key re-signings to happen. Judging by Howie Roseman’s actions as of late, I wouldn’t be surprised by that in the least. Between Fletcher Cox, maybe Sam Bradford, maybe even Walter Thurmond, if the cards fall just right, $3.5 million is a good chunk of cash to have available.
Also, it should come as no surprise that Ryans was destined to be just a backup this season. With the rise of Jordan Hicks last season and the fact that Ryans blew out his Achilles tendon again, $3.5 million isn’t a great number for an injury-prone reserve player. Not that Ryans wouldn’t be a fine backup, but not at that price.
Which is why I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Ryans is eventually back on the team after a while. His leadership and high character have always gone a long way in the Eagles’ locker room, and perhaps if he’s not signed elsewhere after a while he’ll be open to signing a cheaper, non-guaranteed deal. That way he’s back in town, his role is clear and since he’s great against the run, he’d make some sense in Jim Schwartz’s defense.
Honestly, it could go either way. This could very well be the end of the Ryans era in Philadelphia, or it could just be a clever way to clear his cap hit and eventually bring him back. No matter which option it winds up being, the Eagles had no choice but to let him go.
