Eagles offensive lineman Andrew Gardner took a pay cut in order to stay with the team. Gardner was originally slated to make $1.2MM in 2016, but he’ll now get the veteran’s minimum of $760K instead, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In exchange for accepting the pay reduction, Gardner will get $300K added to his 2018 incentives. 
Gardner, 30, was signed by the Eagles prior to the 2014 season to serve as a backup, but wound up appearing in every regular season game, including eight starts. Last summer, Gardner won the open competition for the teams’ starting right guard job and went on to ink an extension just prior to the start of the season. Unfortunately, just a few games into the new deal, he sustained a foot injury that sidelined him for the entire season.
As shown on Roster Resource, Gardner has been bumped from the starting job at right guard by the addition of free agent Brandon Brooks. Gardner now finds himself in reserve alongside center/guard Stefen Wisniewski and center Barrett Jones. Without taking the pay cut, Gardner may have been bumped from the roster all together.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The NFL is rough