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Eagles waive wideout Jordan Matthews: Corner Cre’Von LeBlanc likely to come off injured reserve

The wide receiver's third stint here was a brief one. But who can say if he is gone for good?

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tre Flowers intercepts a pass intended for Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews on Sunday.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tre Flowers intercepts a pass intended for Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews on Sunday.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer
    by Les Bowen
    Published 

Jordan Matthews’ latest return to the Eagles lasted just two games. The team waived Matthews on Monday, the day after he played 73 of a possible 76 offensive snaps in a 17-9 loss to Seattle.

Matthews, 27, caught three passes for 27 yards on six targets Sunday, and one pass for 6 yards on six targets against New England the previous game. Knee problems that first arose in 2017 seemed to have cost him at least a step, but he was a familiar target for Carson Wentz, with the wide-receiving corps in crisis. DeSean Jackson is on injured reserve and Alshon Jeffery has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Nelson Agholor missed the Seattle game with a knee injury.

The Matthews move probably reflects several things:

  1. Training camp fan favorite Greg Ward, finally given a chance in the Seattle game, was a bright spot, catching six passes on seven targets, for 40 yards.

  2. Cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc seems ready to come off injured reserve, where he has been since suffering a Lisfranc foot sprain on the first day of training camp practice.

  3. Agholor and Jeffery seem very close to returning. With Ward -- who returned punts against Seattle -- also now in the mix, Matthews would be pushed down the depth chart. It’s hard to keep a sub receiver who has no special teams role.

Matthews was a second-round draft choice in 2014 who was traded to Buffalo in 2017. He returned to the Eagles last season after Mike Wallace went down in Week 2, but he was not re-signed. San Francisco released him in October.

One of the stranger subplots of a strange Eagles season has been the releasing of veteran players right after they play substantive roles in games. Linebacker Zach Brown, defensive tackle Akeem Spence, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, and safety Andrew Sendejo were previous victims.