Eagles give up rights to Chris Polk

THE EAGLES gave running back Chris Polk his freedom yesterday when they rescinded their restricted free agent offer sheet, making Polk eligible to sign with any team, a source close to the situation confirmed.

Yesterday was the deadline for Polk to sign the sheet, the last day he was eligible to get offers from other teams before his rights reverted completely to the Eagles.

With DeMarco Murray, Darren Sproles and Ryan Mathews all ahead of Polk on the depth chart, the Birds didn't have much of a role to offer Polk. They wouldn't have minded trading him, but other teams can count, as well, and weren't giving up anything for a player they were pretty sure would be released at some point.

Polk, 25, made the Eagles as an undrafted free agent from the University of Washington in 2012. He almost certainly would have been drafted somewhere in the first four rounds, except for teams' concerns about a shoulder problem, which some doctors thought was degenerative.

Polk, stuck first behind LeSean McCoy, then behind both McCoy and Sproles with the Eagles, showed enticing promise. He scored five touchdowns in his first 27 NFL touches. He leaves the Eagles averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

Coach Chip Kelly was very impressed with Polk's offseason work a year ago, but Polk suffered a hamstring injury in preseason that limited him well into the 2014 season, in which he ended up carrying the ball 46 times for 172 yards. He also returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown against Washington last Sept. 21.

Polk would have made $1,542,000 this season under the RFA tender. The Eagles do not incur a cap charge by rescinding their offer.

Polk's departure increases the possibility of the Eagles' taking a running back at some point in the NFL draft, which starts Thursday and runs through next Saturday.

On Twitter: @LesBowen