Philadelphia Eagles: What is going on with Jordan Matthews?

After an offseason filled with trade rumors and injuries, what is Jordan Matthews’ status on the Eagles?

The 2017 offseason was an interesting one for the Philadelphia Eagles. One of their main focuses was to build around the franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz. While the Eagles have acquired several receivers and running backs to serve as weapons for the young quarterback, they also decided to keep some familiar faces on the roster as well. One is wide receiver, Jordan Matthews.

Matthews has been one of the most consistent receivers over the past few seasons. The former second-round pick was drafted out of Vanderbilt University into an offense that was led by Nick Foles. His rookie season off slow. Then, he picked things up and showed Philadelphia that he could potentially be the next star wide receiver. Over the next two seasons, Matthews would play with two different quarterbacks, Sam Bradford and the aforementioned Wentz.

Beleive it or not, this will be the first time in Matthews’ young career where he will play with the same quarterback two years in a row. That is, of course, if he plays for the Eagles this season. So far, Matthews’ offseason has been filled with injuries and trade talks. At the start of the league’s new year, it was rumored that the Eagles were shopping him before the draft. After the Eagles failed to find a landing spot for the receiver, Matthews continued on working on his rehab.

Holding out, or being held out?

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Since his injury-filled season in 2016, Matthews never seemed to fully recover. He missed the majority of the voluntary and mandatory OTA’s in the spring and is expected to be limited once again in training camp. He was diagnosed with knee tendinitis early on in the voluntary phase of mini-camp. Eagles head coach, Doug Pederson told the media that Matthews is healthy enough to play, but they are just being very cautious. Fast forward to a month later, and now, Matthews will still be limited during practice.

Knee injuries are familiar to Matthews, as he was held out for a couple weeks in last season’s training camp. It isn’t strange to see Matthews being sidelined due to injury, but the way it has been handled has made spectators concerned. As you know, this season, he heads into the final year of his rookie contract. Just like any other second-round stud, he will be looking for some long-term money with a high salary. In fact, he may be looking forward to having an early pay day. So is Matthews being held out by the team? Or is he holding himself out to get a better contract?

Let’s figure this out…

It is not strange for a player to seek a bigger contract while heading into the current contracts final phase. Similar to Zach Ertz in 2016, Matthews could be seeking an extension before he takes the field for this final season. There hasn’t been any word yet from the Eagles front office on what is going on. One thing is for sure though, the situation seems sketchy.

Just last week, Matthews and his fellow receivers joined Wentz in North Dakota for some private workouts. While there was no official word on if Matthews limited himself or not, we do know that he was a participant. We also know that Matthews has officially checked into the Novacare Complex for training camp on Thursday despite all of the talk of him being limited.

It’s unlikely that Matthews would want to leave Philadelphia, but the Eagles current financial situation doesn’t help. With Alshon Jeffery on a one-year deal, a major payday from the organization may be headed his way in 2018. Let’s also not forget how players feel when they’re on the trading block. It’s pretty obvious that Matthews has had a lack of experience in dealing with the media. Neither Matthews or his agent have updated the public on any injury or contract concerns.

Next: Eagles release guard/tackle Allen Barbre

It’s pretty obvious that Matthews’ lack of media appearances could have something to do with him avoiding any trade talks. After veterans reported to training camp on Wednesday, he wasn’t involved with any interviews. That is sure to change as we head into day one of rookies and veterans joint practices. The more Matthews keeps quiet, the more concerned the fans will become.

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