Ryan Mathews will not play for the Eagles against the Dallas Cowboys.
Following the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 24-19 win over the New York Giants, Doug Pederson revealed that running back Ryan Mathews has a herniated disk in his neck. The injury will require Mathews to have surgery and miss the final game of the season. The injury occurred on a third down carry in the red zone after colliding with a Giants lineman. Despite the injury, Mathews stayed in the game and attempted another run on fourth down, but he was halted short of the line of scrimmage.
In all likelihood, Mathews’ tenure with the Eagles has come to an end.
Mathews currently has one year remaining on the three-year, $11 million contract he signed prior to the 2015 season. Keeping Mathews next season will cost the Eagles $5 million, but they would only have to pay $1 million in dead money if they chose to cut him, which is the likely scenario.
Releasing Mathews would mean the Eagles would have to select a running back early in the 2017 NFL Draft. Luckily for the Eagles, this year’s draft is stocked with stud running back prospects such as Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey and D’Onta Foreman.
If Mathews is released, he will have finished his tenure in Philadelphia with 261 carries for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
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