Earlier today, the Eagles shocked the football world when they parted ways with veteran guard Evan Mathis. Things had gotten ugly between the 33-year-old and Chip Kelly, but most expected that Mathis would at least be traded to a team in need of offensive line help. As the Eagles figure out what’s next, here’s a look at the rest of the NFC East..
- The Eagles, who had interest in Chris Chester before he signed with the Falcons, intended to add a guard even if Evan Mathis was on the roster, so they’re still in the market for one, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
- Surprisingly, Terrance Knighton wound up having to settle for a one-year prove-it deal with Washington rather than getting the big bucks many envisioned. Pot Roast says that he’s motivated to show the league what he can do and get paid in his next go ’round through free agency, Don Banks of Sports Illustrated writes. “Yeah, I was [the biggest steal],” Knighton said. “But I’ve always bet on myself. I consider myself a premier player in this league, and I’ve got a lot of football left. This will be my seventh season, so when I hit the table again, there won’t be any excuses next time.”
- NFL network analyst Brian Baldinger believes that one moment late in the 2014 season shaped Kelly’s view of LeSean McCoy, leading to him getting traded from the Eagles. “I think of the Seattle game,” Baldinger said, according to Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News. “He had the biggest hole he saw all year. The biggest hole. He should have hit his head on the goal post. But he saw Earl Thomas coming on a dead sprint to blow him up. And he curled up and fell down. It’s a 10-point game, anybody’s game. And it was a game that really swung everything in December. But I think Chip saw that. And between that, taking him off the field on third down, taking him off the field on goal line . . . [Kelly was saying] ‘He’s just not tough enough or what I want.’“
Luke Adams contributed to this post.