Fansided

Philadelphia Eagles expect DeMeco Ryans back in 2015

By Ryan Ratty

Sep 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox (91) celebrates his 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown with teammates inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans (59), strong safety Nate Allen (29) and linebacker Brandon Graham (55) in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Jaguars, 34-17. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox (91) celebrates his 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown with teammates inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans (59), strong safety Nate Allen (29) and linebacker Brandon Graham (55) in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Jaguars, 34-17. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

DeMeco Ryans is expected to be back in 2015 for the Philadelphia Eagles.

After making a blockbuster trade for inside linebacker Kiko Alonso, many people have forgotten about DeMeco Ryans, the inside linebacker who has played for the Philadelphia Eagles over the past few seasons. While Ryans couldn’t stay healthy in 2014, he has shown the ability to be a solid linebacker. In 2013, Ryans recorded 127 total tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions. Sure Alonso is a stud and even though he tore his ACL last season, he will still be more than ready for the 2015 NFL season.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Ryans is expected back in Philadelphia in 2015.

More from NFL

Although the Eagles deploy a 3-4 defensive scheme and Ryans will more than likely be the linebacker in the middle next to Alonso, the fact of the matter is that he is no longer the signal-caller and the captain of this defense. By trading away LeSean McCoy, the Eagles now have around $40 million in cap space. That being said, it’s not guaranteed that the Eagles will bypass the prospects of adding another inside linebacker.

Ryans, who is 30 years old, is in the last year of his contract. He will make a base salary of $6.8 million in 2015 to go along with a cap figure of $6.9 million. Knowing that, if the Eagles were to release Ryans, they would create $6.9 million in salary cap space.

Despite the injury last season, if the Eagles can get the 2013 version of Ryans, they will arguably have one of the best inside linebacker duos in all of football. However, to do that, Ryans will not only need to stay healthy, but he will want to play for the Eagles as well. With free agency approaching, this is definitely a story to monitor.

More from FanSided

Home/NFL