Eagles release Kearse, sign Reed, tender Hanson

The Eagles, as expected, officially released veteran defensive end Jevon Kearse today, a move that gives them an additional $2.585 million in salary-cap room.

Kearse, the Eagles' prized free-agent signing before their 2004 run to the Super Bowl, had four years remaining on the eight-year contract he signed with the team, but his inability to fully recover from a serious knee injury last season cost him his starting job midway through the 2007 season.

That also made it inevitable that the Eagles would not pay him the $6.46 million he would have been due this year.

The Eagles also signed safety J.R. Reed to a one-year contract today and tendered an offer sheet to cornerback Joselio Hanson, who is a restricted free agent.

Reed, who returned to the Eagles last season after being released in 2006, would have been a restricted free agent if he had not signed the new deal.

Hanson, who finished last season as the team's third cornerback, received the second-level tender of $1.47 million, which means the Eagles would receive a second-round pick if they did not match an offer sheet from another team.

Though Kearse never lived up to the expectations that came with his $20 million in signing and roster bonuses, he was the starting defensive end on a team that reached the Super Bowl and it appeared in 2006 as if he was finally ready to duplicate the elite pass-rushing level he had achieved with the Tennessee Titans as a rookie in 1999.

Kearse had 31/2 sacks in the Eagles' first two games when he suffered multiple ligament damage to his left knee in overtime during a Week 2 game against the New York Giants. That injury cost Kearse the remainder of the 2006 season and he did not return at the same level last season.

He finished 2007 with 31/2 sacks and did not start a game in the second half of the season, losing his starting job at left defensive end to Juqua Thomas. Kearse didn't even play in two of the Eagles' final eight games.

Kearse, who'll be 32 at the start of next season, has said he wants to continue playing and the Titans have been mentioned as a team that may have interest in the veteran defensive end.