Eagles rework DeMeco Ryans' deal

PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles reworked the contract of inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans, adding an additional year to his deal while lowering his 2015 salary-cap number.

Ryans was scheduled to count $6.9 million against the cap in 2015, the final year of the free-agent contract he signed in 2012. His new contract will run through the 2016 season.

Ryans, 30, tore his left Achilles tendon during the Eagles' victory in Houston on Nov. 2. Ryans tore his right Achilles while playing for the Texans at nearly the same spot on the field of NRG Stadium in 2010. The first Achilles injury caused Ryans to miss the last 10 games of the 2010 season.

With Ryans out, Casey Matthews moved into the starting lineup at inside linebacker alongside Mychal Kendricks. When the Eagles acquired linebacker Kiko Alonso in the trade that sent LeSean McCoy to Buffalo, it was fair to wonder what impact it would have on Ryans. He will be 31 in July and with his cap number, would have fit the profile of players like Trent Cole and Todd Herremans, who were released this month.

But coach Chip Kelly has a definite affection for Ryans, describing the veteran leader as the Eagles' Mufasa, the powerful character from "The Lion King."

At the owners meetings in Phoenix last week, Kelly was asked how Ryans, Kendricks and Alonso will share playing time.

"You have no idea," Kelly said. "I don't know what's going to happen four weeks from now, five weeks from now, four months from now. They all may be hurt and maybe Brad Jones and [Emmanuel] Acho [are playing].

"Both those linebackers -- I think DeMeco missed eight [games] and Mychal missed four. So it was really getting depth at our inside linebackers, getting more players. It was something that we were really striving to get accomplished in the offseason."

There had been speculation that the Eagles could look to trade Kendricks if Ryans was returning. But Kelly's concerns about depth suggest that all three players could simply be back on the roster in 2015.

Matthews, who started a total of 11 games in 2014, signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings.