The clock will run out next week. Decisions will be made. That’s when things figure to get awfully interesting.
The Eagles are still in the voluntary portion of their offseason workout schedule. That will change on Tuesday, June 16. That’s when the Eagles transition from OTAs (strictly optional) to minicamp (strictly not). At that point, the Eagles will look around and take a roll call of sorts. They expect everyone to be in attendance. Well, almost everyone. No one knows if Evan Mathis will play hooky.
The interaction between Mathis and Chip Kelly has recently deteriorated in full public view. At present, the situation can be charitably described as ... uncomfortable. It’s been widely reported for a while now that Mathis isn’t happy with his contract. Several other players who either weren’t happy for various reasons or seemingly didn’t fit the general idea for the kind of player Kelly wants were jettisoned during the offseason. Some, like LeSean McCoy, were loaded into the preverbal trade cannon and fired off into the distance with a big bang. Others, like Todd Herremans, Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams, slipped away quietly under the cover of free agency.
Not Mathis. There were rumors that the Eagles were trying to trade him, but those were mostly whispers — until Kelly addressed the issue and the whispers became a full-throated acknowledgement of how badly things have soured with Mathis. A necessary review:
“We haven’t had an offer for Evan so there’s nothing to take,” Kelly said. “Evan has been available for trade for two years now and we have never had an offer for him. That’s between his agent and him.”
Kelly said that over a month ago. The statement is staggering even now. You just don’t hear coaches/front office executives adopt that kind of position. It’s rare for someone in Kelly’s position to admit that Mathis has been available for trade. It’s even more rare for someone in Kelly’s position to admit that Mathis has been available for trade for two years. And it is damn near unprecedented to admit that no one is interested in him. None of those admissions could possibly help the Eagles' bargaining/trade negotiations with potential suitors. Saying something like that was about Kelly sending a message. He clearly had enough of Mathis and flipped him the bird with some not-so-veiled words — then Mathis flipped it right back by not reporting to OTAs.
Now the mandatory portion of the offseason workout schedule looms. Now we’re left to wait and see if Mathis will show. Now, more than anything, we’re left to wonder if Mathis and Kelly can bridge the massive chasm in their rocky relationship.
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For his part, Kelly said on Tuesday that he hasn’t talked to Mathis. Asked whether he expects Mathis to report, Kelly replied, “We’ll take it as it comes.” Kelly was also asked about Mathis' contract and whether the Eagles are willing to renegotiate. Kelly, now in charge of everything that matters from the field to the front office, said, “We’re not going to discuss any player’s contract. Never have. Never will.”
That’s not entirely true. About a month ago, during the admission that Kelly had tried to trade Mathis to no avail, Kelly said that Mathis and his agent asked to renegotiate Mathis’s contract in an attempt to make him more attractive to another team that might trade for him. Kelly admitted that the Eagles “obliged them” but still didn’t get a trade offer.
Mathis signed a five-year deal for more than $25 million back in 2012. He made the Pro Bowl and was named All-Pro in 2013, which prompted his first request to re-do his contract. Mathis missed seven games a year ago after hurting his knee in the season opener but recovered in time to make the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year.
If he doesn’t get cut or traded — and those are big ifs given how these two men are locked in an unblinking stare-off — Mathis will enter the fourth year of his contract and make $6.5 million. Next year, the contract calls for him to make $7 million. He’ll turn 34 in November. Considering his age, it makes sense that he’d want to cash in for as much as possible as quickly as possible. Considering his age, it makes sense that the Eagles would prefer not to pay him a single cent more.
If Mathis doesn’t show next week — and some of the players aren't exactly eager to welcome him back — the Eagles could fine him $30,000 per day, per the CBA. Meanwhile, they’re doing all sorts of posturing about rotating other guys in at guard, as though they don’t need Mathis. Maybe that’s true. Or maybe, with Herremans gone and a whole host of new faces on the roster, the Eagles really can’t afford to turn over two-fifths of the starting O-line from a year ago and still hope to stitch together a seamless offense.
From a money and leverage standpoint, Kelly would appear to be on firmer footing than Mathis. But Mathis hasn’t given any ground yet. Either Mathis doesn’t show and things get crazier at the NovaCare Complex, or Mathis does show and the drama unfolds in person with countless questions about what went down in the past and where everyone goes from there. No matter what happens next week, this thing is a long way from being squashed.