The Philadelphia Eagles made a pretty big move on the watered-down free agent market Wednesday, adding running back LeGarrette Blount to the mix on a one-year deal.
It’s a signing that will surely help young quarterback Carson Wentz as he looks to improve off an uneven rookie season. Philadelphia’s host of running backs prior to the Blount signing included three players in Darren Sproles, Ryan Mathews and Wendell Smallwood who combined for just over 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Blount himself tallied 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns for the defending champion New England Patriots.
It now looks like the Eagles will move on from Mathews after signing Blount. It’s been long bandied about that the team would release the often-injured running back, but this report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter clarifies the situation a bit more.
Signing LeGarrette Blount probably winds up sealing the deal on Ryan Mathews' departure from Eagles once he's healthy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 17, 2017
Mathews is set to count $5 million against the cap this upcoming season. The Eagles will save $4 million by releasing him. At this point, it’s pretty much a no-brainer.
The 30-year-old former Pro Bowler has put up 1,200 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in his two seasons with Philadelphia. Though, he has failed to play more than 13 games in each of the past three seasons and continues to be injury plagued. He’ll likely find a less-than-stellar free agent market when the Eagles do indeed release him.