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According to a report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there is a misconception as to why Evan Mathis isn't reporting to Philadelphia's voluntary workouts.
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"So what’s the deal between the Eagles and guard Evan Mathis? On the surface, the impression is that Mathis wants more money, but the team won’t give it to him. At a deeper level, Mathis believes the truth is that the team previously offered to adjust his contract, but that it now won’t.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Mathis contends that the Eagles previously offered to increase the salary paid to Mathis by roughly $1 million per year, from 2014 through 2016. Mathis opted not to accept it in 2014, but he was interested in accepting it in 2015. But the Eagles, per the source, told Mathis that the offer was no longer available because Howie Roseman, who had made the offer, was no longer the General Manager."
Jeff McLane reports that the Eagles made this offer of a raise to Mathis in September 2014, when Howie Roseman was still general manager. McLane also reports that teams were interested in Mathis prior to the NFL Draft, which is something the agent of Mathis, Drew Rosenhaus, recently discussed in an interview on a Miami radio program.
It does not seem surprising that the new regime (meaning: Kelly and co.) would not feel obliged to honor the offer made by the old regime. It does seem odd to me that Mathis would reject the initial offer.
It remains to be seen how the Mathis situation plays out, but recent events make it hard to believe there's a great chance he plays for Philadelphia this season. Just last week ESPN Insider Adam Caplan reported that he doesn't expect Mathis to be with the Eagles this fall. More recently, some Eagles players won't seem to miss him if he's gone.
Losing Mathis would hurt the Eagles' offensive line talent (and depth), but the team is admittedly high on Allen Barbre.