Eagles release defensive leader DeMeco Ryans

INDIANAPOLIS - There were plenty of good reasons for releasing DeMeco Ryans on Wednesday.

You could start with the saving of $3.5 million of cap space that could be better employed elsewhere, then segue to the fact that Ryans missed 11 games the past two seasons, and played hobbled in several others. The emergence of third-round rookie Jordan Hicks as a linebacking leader last season, Simba to Ryans' Mufasa, deserves a prominent spot. And there's the fact that Ryans, an Eagle the past four seasons, turns 32 in July, with a lot of miles on his odometer.

Most everybody saw this one coming, but it was still a sad occasion when it came time for the Eagles to say goodbye to the leader who fought valiantly to hold a succession of struggling defenses together, the locker room's strongest, wisest, most consistent voice since he arrived as a free agent from Houston in 2012.

Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman began his Wednesday interview session at the NFL Scouting Combine with a paean to Ryans.

"What DeMeco Ryans has done for our organization, the class he brought, day in and day out, I just wish him the best as he goes forward with his career, and really, in life," Roseman said.

Ryans did not respond to requests for comment.

At times the past few seasons, it seemed former Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis felt he needed Ryans' leadership in the lineup even if Ryans was so hobbled he couldn't really run. But there is a new defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, and a 4-3 scheme that seems most likely to start Hicks in the middle, flanked by Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso.

"Sometimes there are hard decisions," new Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. "Sometimes you have to move on from certain players. I love everything he's stood for in the organization. He's a great person, a great human being. But sometimes you just have to cut those ties and move on."

Ryans would have counted $4.5 million against the cap this season. There is a $1 million charge for releasing him.

A source close to the situation said the Eagles haven't yet made an offer to safety-corner Walter Thurmond, scheduled to become a free agent March 9.

If the Eagles don't bring back Thurmond, they would seem destined to either spend a high draft pick for a ready-to-play safety or find one in free agency.

"We have a little time before free agency starts, and so we'll communicate with the agents for all our free agents here in the next couple days, and really, the next couple weeks," Howie Roseman said, when asked about Thurmond. "You get to this point where it's so close to free agency, they've earned the right to also test the market. It's got to work both ways."

Meanwhile, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is set to play this season under a fifth-year option on his rookie deal, worth $7.79 million. Both sides would like to do a long-term contract for the team's most dominant player.

"It's a huge priority for us to keep Fletcher Cox. Our intention is for Fletcher to always be an Eagle. We've made that known . . . Sometimes these things don't happen so quickly," Roseman said. "He's a great player. He's going to get great player money. We're not shy about saying that. But it still comes down to kinda structure and all the things that kinda complicate a negotiation.

"But I think the intention's right, from him, from his representatives, and certainly from us and how we feel about him."

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@LesBowen

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