February 19, 2015
James Casey was going to cost $4 million against the salary cap in 2015, which made him an expensive special teams player and at risk to be cut. Today, the Eagles decided to release Casey, according to the team's Twitter account:
#Eagles release TE James Casey.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 19, 2015
Casey confirmed:
I was fired by the Eagles today. Thank you to the entire organization, my teammates, coaches, and all the fans for 2 great years.
— James Casey (@jamescasey85) February 19, 2015
Casey was one of eight Eagles players we identified as potential cap casualties:
Casey is unquestionably a very valuable special teams player, playing on what was the best special teams units in the league in 2014. But certainly, Casey had to have envisioned a bigger role in the regular offense when he signed with the Eagles during the 2013 offseason. To date, Casey has played just 15.13% of the Eagles' snaps since he signed in Philly (via PFF):
Last season, Trey Burton made the team as an undrafted free agent. Burton possesses many of the same skills as Casey, which may have made him expendable.
The Eagles will save the entirety of Casey's 2015 cap hit, without penalty.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
