The Philadelphia Eagles cut veteran linebacker DeMeco Ryans on Wednesday, according to the team.
Ryans, 32, would have cost $4.5 million against the cap this upcoming season, reported Phil Sheridan of ESPN, a high price for a player likely to serve as a backup in the 2016 season. That made his release somewhat inevitable.
Ryans was a solid contributor after joining the Eagles in 2012, accumulating 334 tackles, five interceptions, five sacks and two fumble recoveries in 54 games. Ryans has been voted to two Pro Bowls in his career (in 2007 and 2009), was the NFL 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year and was voted to a second-team All-NFL selection by the Associated Press in 2007.
But the Eagles have solid depth at linebacker, even if the team is still figuring out where exactly Mychal Kendricks, Kiko Alonso, Jordan Hicks and Najee Goode (a special teams standout) will fit into the 4-3 scheme Jim Schwartz will be installing in Philadelphia.
It seems likely Kendricks and Alonso will be moved to outside linebacker after playing inside in the team's 3-4 scheme last year, while Hicks will remain in the middle after an impressive rookie season. That made Alonso an expensive backup, so it seems the Eagles released him to free up cap space.
The 31-year-old will likely find a home with a team looking to bolster its linebacker corps, however. He'll provide leadership and experience and can still compete at a fairly high level, even if it's clear he's lost a step at this point in his career.
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