June 16, 2015
Matt Slocum/AP
"You get your release, and you get your release, and you get your release."
For more than a year, the Eagles tried to trade Evan Mathis, but the Eagles found no takers, as Chip Kelly has noted. So when the Eagles exhausted all trade possibilities, Mathis and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, asked for his release. The Eagles obliged.
"We were asked by his agent for his release on multiple occasions," said Kelly. "We weren't going to come to a conclusion on a contract extension. We weren't going to extend any contract or adjust any contracts. We granted him what his agent asked for."
Kelly claimed that he released Mathis now so that he could find a new team as soon as possible.
"Hopefully, I was seeing if he could catch on with somebody before the minicamp so he could make a team. I'm not going to hold guys out. I mean that's just not the deal. If he didn't want to be here and he wants his release, we granted him his release. We moved on, they moved on. I hope things really work out for Evan."
Mathis' release raises an interesting question. Does it set a dangerous precedent that any player who is unhappy with their deal can simply hold out and get their way?
"Other players could say they're going to hold out and get more money too, so there's a catch-22 for both of those sides of it," said Kelly.
During OTAs, the Eagles shifted Allen Barbre to left guard, and Matt Tobin filled in at right guard. After releasing Mathis and RG Todd Herremans, the Eagles are rolling the dice with at guard heading into the 2015 season.
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