First went Todd Herremans, the longtime Eagles offensive lineman whose release saved the team $5.3 million over the next two seasons.
Then went cornerback Cary Williams, a savings of nearly $5 million more.
Then pass rusher Trent Cole and then LeSean McCoy and another boatload of millions the Eagles wouldn’t have to owe.
The mass exodus of cap-strangling veterans that started last week gave the Eagles nearly $50 million in cap relief as Chip Kelly began remaking the roster from top to bottom.
Strangely, one high-priced veteran stayed.
And it sounds like he’s sticking around for a while.
Kelly on Wednesday said veteran linebacker DeMeco Ryans would be back in 2015, manning his usual spot on the inside.
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That’s the soon-to-be 32-year-old DeMeco Ryans, who’s coming off his second Achilles tear and due to make $6.9 million this year in the final year of his contract.
The McCoy trade to Buffalo brought back linebacker Kiko Alonso, giving the Eagles three starting-caliber inside linebackers along with Ryans and Mychal Kendricks to fill two spots.
Conventional wisdom would dictate that one has to go, but Kelly is anything but conventional.
“I like having really good football players,” he said, “so you have no idea. The one thing is Mychal missed some games last year, DeMeco missed games last year, Kiko has missed games. We are trying to accumulate as many good football players as we can is what we are trying to do.”
Ryans was playing well last year before tearing his Achilles for the second time on Nov. 2 against the Texans in Houston.
His coverage isn’t great, his range isn’t what it once was and he’s more of a two-down linebacker at this stage of his career.
But he’s one of the most respected veterans in the locker room and Kelly isn’t about to push that experience and respect out the door.