Evan Mathis was released by the Philadelphia Eagles this week and now teams like the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, NY Giants, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons could be interested in signing the lineman and this comes after he was staying away from team workouts while looking to get a new contract from Chip Kelly.
Mathis is one of the best linemen in the league and he has made the Pro Bowl multiple times, but over the past two years he has been looking for a new contract. Kelly wants players to "get with the program" and he has moved on from the ones that have not bought in. The team has moved on from Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles over the past two years and now Mathis joins the long list of players that are no longer in Philly.
According to NFL.com, some teams that could be interested in Mathis include the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. The Miami Dolphins previously showed interest in Mathis in a trade, but the teams did not agree on a deal. The Patriots and Rams also have shown interest and now those teams also could be in the mix for Mathis now that he is on the market. Mathis has been rated by Pro Football Focus as one of the best linemen in football the past two years.
Mathis has been dealing with a contract issue for some time and Kelly said that he gave the lineman a chance to seek a trade this offseason. Mathis was set to get $11.5 million over the final two years of his deal and now he is on the market. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Eagles were willing to bump up the salary for Mathis moving forward, but the team later pulled the deal off the table. The Giants have a major need on the line, as they have Will Beatty out for most of the season with an injury.
Adding a player like Mathis could help stabilize the line for the Giants and it would take some pressure off of Ereck Flowers, who may have to start as a rookie. Kelly said that the team looked into trading Mathis, but according to Pro Football Talk, the team made "no serious effort...to trade" Mathis and now he is on the market. Kelly has dumped a number of players from the Eagles roster and now he is moving forward with players that are "his guys" and clearly he is satisfied with the roster makeup.
The Seattle Seahawks are a potential fit after losing Max Unger and James Carpenter on the offensive line, while the Broncos could use some support as well. Denver lost Ryan Clady to an injury and he is out for the season and that could lead the team to look at Mathis. The Raiders have some cap space and could use some more beef on the offensive line, while the Vikings also could be an option, as reporter Ben Goessling at ESPN writes that Mathis has connections to head coach Mike Zimmer and coaches on the Minnesota staff.