The Jordan Matthews’ saga in New England lasted pretty much as long as his short tenure with the team. Having dealt with a hamstring injury early in camp, the free agent signing was on the verge of being released by the Patriots.
That’s when the team opted to place him on injured reserve rather than move on from the former Philadelphia Eagles second-round pick.
About that.
ESPN’s Field Yates is now reporting that Matthews has in fact been released by the Patriots. The two sides worked out an injury settlement, meaning that he becomes a free agent and is able to sign with another team once healthy.
It’s certainly an interesting situation to look at. New England signed Matthews back in April, long before No. 1 receiver Julian Edelman was suspended the first four games of the season. Once that happened, most figured the 26-year-old pass catcher would play a big role in New England’s offense. That’s obviously no longer going to be the case.
For the Patriots, this lends even more credence to the idea that they’ll have to add a street free agent or two. Remember, they released former fourth-round pick Malcolm Mitchell earlier in the week. That came after the team signed Eric Decker.