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According to Birds 24/7 reporter Tim McManus, Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis will be reporting to the team's training camp starting on Friday, July 25th.
Evan Mathis says he will report to training camp.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 24, 2014
Mathis was contemplating holdout. Wants new deal. Ultimately decided showing up and continuing to do right thing was best course.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 24, 2014
There was concern that Mathis may hold out for a new contract due to a report from earlier this offseason that the Eagles veteran offensive lineman wanted a raise. The Eagles, who likely want Mathis to honor his current deal, were reportedly listening to trade offers for Mathis at that time.
No real drama ever materialized from this dilemma because Mathis reported to the team's voluntary offseason workouts along with mandatory minicamp. Mathis even said at the time that he wasn't planning to hold out:
"I think with those contract question, you haven’t heard anything from myself, you haven’t heard anything from [agent Drew] Rosenhaus, the Eagles. For that type of matter I think it’s best that anything stays in house, just be professional about it.
"If I did ask for a new contract, I’m not going to tell [the media] I want a new contract. How are you going to get me a new contact? Seriously though, for all that type of stuff, the best approach would be to keep it in house.
Some figured that the suspension of Lane Johnson, which was officially confirmed on Wednesday, would give Mathis more reason to hold out because it would mean the Eagles would be without two of their five starting offensive lineman. It looks like that won't be the case, however.
It'll be interesting to see how this situation plays out in the long term. Mathis arguably deserves more money but at the same time the Eagles don't want to set a bad precedent by shredding up deals and letting players dictate how the team operates. For now, Mathis is doing what's best for the team.
With Mathis reportedly not holding out, the Eagles should expect all 90 players to report on time for training camp on Friday. Philadelphia is off to a good start this summer.