Another update on the lingering Ryan Mathews situation

If you were expecting the Ryan Mathews situation to end now that Philadelphia Eagles training camp is beginning this week, think again. Les Bowen reports Mathews has reported for training camp and will remain on the Eagles’ roster into August.

Mathews won’t be on the field Monday. He is still recovering from neck disk surgery, and his surgeon doesn’t want to revisit the matter until sometime next month, the source said.

The worst kept secret of this Eagles offseason is that the team is going to cut Mathews when he’s healthy. Philadelphia can save $4 million in cap space (and a roster spot) by cutting him after he recovers.

If the Eagles want to release Mathews while he’s still hurt, they’d have to waive him with an injury settlement, which means they wouldn’t save as much cap room. This option seems unlikely, though. The Eagles could have parted with Mathews in that fashion earlier this offseason. By waiting this long, it seems clear Philadelphia wants to cut him once he’s healthy so they can save $4 million. The Eagles would rather have the money than the roster spot.

And so the Mathews situation will continue to drag on without an exact resolution in sight.

UPDATE: Eagles head coach Doug Pederson spoke about Mathews to the team’s official website.

“Ryan has been excused while he recovers from his injury. Our main focus with him is just making sure he’s healthy.”

[Related reading: Should the Eagles hold on to Ryan Mathews?]