It didn’t take former Washington defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis long to find a new NFL home. Ioannidis signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, reuniting with his college head coach Matt Rhule.
Rhule coached Ioannidis for three seasons while the head coach at Temple. Ioannidis was selected by Washington in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons with the Commanders franchise and became an integral part of their talented defensive line rotation.
However, he became a cap casualty on Wednesday after the team acquired quarterback Carson Wentz and his $28.3 million cap hit in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts. By releasing Ioannidis, Washington saved $6.5 million against cap.
His agent, Alan Herman, ripped the team saying Commanders executives “lied to our face” by telling him Ioannidis wouldn’t be released during a meeting at the scouting combine earlier this month. The meeting occurred before Washington traded for Wentz.
Matt Ioannidis played in 73 games, including 40 starts with Washington. He registered 24.5 sacks, but only 4.0 in the last two seasons. His best stretch was in 2018-2019 when he recorded 16.0 sacks in 30 games.
A torn biceps in Week 3 cut his season short in 2020. He returned last season and played 16 of 17 games, but was not as highly effective before his injury.
