Offensive guard Evan Mathis agreed to terms on a one-year, $6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Wedensday. This is according to NFL Network’s Albert Breer. Mathis spent the first 11 years of his career with the Carolina Panthers (2005-2007), Miami Dolphins (2008), Cincinnati Bengals (2008-2010), Philadelphia Eagles (2011-2014), and Denver Broncos (2015).
Per source, G Evan Mathis has agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Cardinals. He takes Jonathan Cooper's spot on the roster.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 16, 2016
Evan Mathis Agrees To 1-Year Deal with Cardinals
At the age of 34, Evan Mathis showed that he is still one of the better guards in the NFL. Pro Football Focus assigned Mathis a grade of 89.6 for his efforts during the 2015 season, which was the third-highest score among guards. He was much better blocking for running plays (grade of 96.1) than passing plays (grade of 73.8), but that style fit perfectly into how the Denver Broncos offense maneuvered during Peyton Manning’s final season. The star guard helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.
During the six seasons before Mathis went to Philadelphia, he only started for one season in Carolina and seven games in Cincinnati. Needless to say, he was pretty much “just another guy” for the first half of his career. However, he became one of the best guards in the league as soon as he joined the Eagles. Pro Football Focus rated him as the best guard in the NFL for his first three seasons with the Eagles (2011, 2012, and 2013). In his final season in Philadelphia, he was ranked as the second-best guard despite only playing in nine games due to a knee injury. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and a one-time first-team All-Pro.
The Alabama native went to Homewood High School, where he participated in football, wrestling, and track. He committed to the University of Alabama, where he started for four seasons (three at tackle, one at guard). After starting in 47 consecutive games for the Crimson Tide, he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
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