A lot of the focus surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles heading into free agency has involved the wide receiver position. And for good measure. It’s one of the many areas of the team that let rookie quarterback Carson Wentz down this past season.
Though, Philadelphia’s running back situation was equally as bad. Both Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews struggled making a consistent impact, combining for just over 1,000 yards on the season.
With Sproles turning 34 before the 2017 season comes calling and Matthews coming off yet another injury-plagued campaign, it’s readily apparent that the Eagles will be looking at external options when it comes to this position.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s, this likely means that Matthews has played his final game with the Eagles.
The 29-year-old Matthews led Philadelphia with 661 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season. He also missed three games to injury for the second consecutive season since joining the Eagles.
Linked to Jamaal Charles as a potential outside option, the Eagles could also look to the draft for a long-term solution at running back. At the very least, we now know that their long-term future at running back likely doesn’t include Mathews.
If the Eagles were to release Mathews, it would save them $4 million against the cap this upcoming season. That’s no small chunk of change, especially when looking at the running back position.