March 03, 2015
After releasing TE James Casey, OG Todd Herremans, and CB Cary Williams, the Eagles bloodletting will continue when they are expected to release longtime Eagle Trent Cole, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN:
The #Eagles will be releasing Trent Cole after both sides could not agree on a revised contract, a league source confirmed.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 3, 2015
After the Eagles released Herremans, Cole became the longest-tenured Eagles player on the roster. Cole had a great career with the Eagles, playing in 155 games, and starting 145. He had 85.5 career sacks, which was second all time in Eagles history behind Reggie White. He made the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2009.
Cole was carrying the second highest salary cap number on the team heading into 2015. We included him among the players who could become cap casualties a few weeks ago:
Trent Cole, OLB: $11,625,000 cap figure in 2015, savings of $8,425,000 if cut.
Cole did a good job transitioning from his role as a 4-3 DE for the entirety of his career to a 3-4 OLB the last two seasons. But clearly, with Cole turning 33 during the 2015 season, his most productive days are behind him. Cole may be amenable to a pay cut, but there is somewhere in the vicinity of a 0% chance the Eagles keep him at his current salary cap figure.
The only sure thing heading into 2015 at OLB is Connor Barwin, who is coming off an outstanding 2014 season. Beyond Barwin, Brandon Graham is almost certain to test the free agent market, and Marcus Smith had a disappointing rookie season. Expect the Eagles to be shoppers for a new OLB in free agency.
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