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Eagles release Ryan Mathews

The move trims $4 million from the team's salary cap.

Ryan Mathews, running against the Ravens in December., was cut Tuesday.
Ryan Mathews, running against the Ravens in December., was cut Tuesday.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

The Eagles have released running back Ryan Mathews, after doctors cleared him eight months after he underwent neck surgery.

The team made the move official after initial reports surfaced Tuesday.

Doug Pederson said after practice that he would meet later in the day with Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman to decide on Mathews' future. It didn't take long to decide that Mathews, 29, who flew to Philly on Monday and had scans done of his injury by an independent physician, would no longer be an Eagle.

The Eagles save $4 million from their salary cap by waiving the running back. They still have $1 million from his salary that they will have to eat, however.

The injury-prone Mathews suffered a season-ending neck injury against the Ravens last December. He underwent surgery in early January. Mathews, who was signed to a three-year contract during former Eagles coach Chip Kelly's  one off-season in charge of personnel, rushed for 539 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games in 2015. The following season, with Pederson as coach, he ran for 661 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Eagles signed LeGarrette Blount in May to compensate for the eventual release of Mathews, whose career in the NFL remains in doubt.

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