Todd Herremans' Release Will Loom Large for Philadelphia Eagles

On the backside of a season where the Philadelphia Eagles did not make the playoffs, the team will add more questions about its shifting roster as it released veteran offensive lineman Todd Herremans, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan.

The Eagles drafted the 10-year veteran from Saginaw Valley State in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft. Herremans was the longest-tenured player on Eagles roster last season alongside linebacker Trent Cole.

The 32-year-old most recently started at guard but suffered a biceps injury against the Arizona Cardinals in October. Herremans played the next week with a brace but suffered an ankle injury and opted to have season-ending surgery on his torn arm muscle.

On top of the doubts raised by the recent injury, the right guard’s salary-cap figure may have pushed the front office’s hand in its decision. The Eagles owed Herremans $4 million this upcoming season, causing a $5.2 million cap hit, and the team will save $2.8 million with his absence, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Zach Berman.

Herremans never earned a spot on a Pro Bowl roster, but he established himself as the image of toughness and versatility. While racking up 124 starts and 127 appearances, he appeared in every position across the offensive line except center. Despite missing 16 games over the past three seasons, Herremans played in all 16 regular-season games during six of his 10 seasons in the NFL.

On-field performances fall short in showing the impact Herremans had on the locker room and the growth of the players around him. In a text message with Philly.com reporter Les Bowen, Lane Johnson, the 24-year-old out of Oklahoma, portrayed the importance the veteran had on his development.

Herremans is “someone I love like a brother – really helped me mature as a player on the field and as a man off the field,” Johnson said in a text to Bowen. Johnson also described his partner on the line as “really a guy I look up to a lot and think extremely high of.”

The task facing the Eagles now is finding a replacement for Herremans to line up at right guard in Week 1. There are several viable, but potentially expensive, options set to hit the free-agent market on March 10. Established interior linemen such as San Francisco’s Mike Iupati, 27, Denver’s Orlando Franklin, 27, and Seattle’s James Carpenter, 25, are expected to become available and would add youth to Philadelphia’s line. However, they are likely to command salaries that will cancel out the $2.8 million the Eagles are saving by releasing Herremans 

From within the organization, the linemen available to play right guard do not appear to be long-term solutions. With 48 career appearances, journeyman Allen Barbre is the most experienced of the choices, but he is on the wrong side of 30 and missed 15 games last season due to an ankle injury.

Andrew Gardner, 24 career appearances, filled in at right guard after the Eagles placed Herremans on injured reserve and will get the opportunity to prove himself in training camp. Other options include Dennis Kelly, 16 career appearances, and Matthew Tobin, 14 career appearances, as both stepped in at right guard in the past.

Questions of age and salary-cap flexibility surround Philadelphia's offensive line as veterans Jason Peters and Evan Mathis, both 33 years old, command high salaries. Mathis and Peters will cause cap hits of $9.05 million and $6.5 million, respectively, for the 2015 season, according to Spotrac. However, the release of Herremans without a clear successor will hardly make Philly fans feel secure.