Eagles release Vinny Curry

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Staff

The rumor mill has been a whirlwind for the Eagles’ Vinny Curry the past few weeks. Almost two weeks after it was reported that the Eagles would release the defensive lineman, and less than a week after it was reported that they were shopping him, it appears a decision has been made.

Earlier today, Curry posted the following on Instagram:

 

Who would’ve thought a small town boy from Neptune, NJ who grew up an Eagles fan, would’ve been drafted to his favorite team and win his and the teams first Super Bowl Championship! All Gods Plan! Philadelphia, Thank You! Thank you fans for opening your arms and taking me in as one of your own! This has been a dream come true for me to have the ability to play for my dream team and bring the Lombardi trophy home to you all! Thank you to the entire Eagles organization, coaching staff and my teammates, MY BROTHERS! UNDERDOGS! Without you guys, none of this would’ve been possible! I love you all from the bottom of my heart! I am humbled by this opportunity and can’t be more proud to call myself an Eagle for life! This experience has been one hell of a ride! I can’t wait to see what the future now holds for me. Thank You Philly!

A post shared by Vinny Curry (FLEE) (@mrgetflee) on Mar 16, 2018 at 12:32pm PDT

The post gave fans an idea that the New Jersey native may be on his way out. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network confirmed this as he is reporting Curry is expected to be released:

Curry had a trigger on Sunday that would've guaranteed $5m of his $9m base salary for this upcoming season. That was the deadline. Believes he will get good money on the market. Probably right.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 16, 2018

Garafolo went on to say that Curry having $5 million of his $9 million base salary become guaranteed in just two days set the deadline. With no trade on the horizon and the two sides not seeing eye to eye on a restructure, a release is in order.

Curry grew up an Eagles fan and was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Marshall University. He appeared in 84 games for the birds over the past six seasons, registering 95 tackles, 22 sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

While Curry was a huge part of the Eagles dominant defensive line that helped lead the team to their first Super Bowl Championship, the additions of Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata have given the Eagles a glut of quality defensive lineman. It also means that they have $46.2 million from the defensive line against the cap (~26% of the total salary cap) without Curry. Although he did rank as PFF's No. 10 4-3 defensive end, something had to give.

Curry is expected to find heavy interest and a fairly large deal on the free agent market.