Agent for Matt Ioannidis: Commanders 'lied to our face'

The Washington Commanders released defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis on Wednesday and, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, had previously been shopping him.

But Ioannidis' camp is saying otherwise.

The 28-year-old's agent, Alan Herman, told the Associated Press he and fellow agent met with Commanders VP of football administration Rob Rogers and director of pro personnel Chris Polian earlier this month to discuss whether his client was in the team's plans for the future.

What was said then and what had transpired don't exactly match up.

"They looked us straight in the eye, Rob Rogers, and Rob basically said to [fellow agent Jared Fox] and myself: 'Absolutely not. We have no thoughts of releasing Matt Ioannidis,'" Herman told the AP. "We don’t particularly care to be lied to our face. I don’t like when someone lies to my face..."

As the AP and other sources have pointed out, the previous conversation Herman had with Washington's brass took place before the team had acquired Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts. With the Commanders also acquiring the quarterback's substantial cap hit, it's no wonder Washington's position on things has changed.

Herman still isn't happy with how the team handled things.

"They took him out of the free-agent market now for two days," he continued. "That puts us now at a disadvantage because other teams have paid other defensive linemen contracts, and [Ioannidis] hasn’t been able to take advantage of that. That’s not the way you conduct business in the National Football League."

At least this story could potentially have a happy ending for Ioannidis, with Herman telling ESPN five teams called about his client within an hour of him being released.

The Commanders also released guard Ereck Flowers and safety Deshazor Everett on Wednesday. Washington created $18.9 million in cap space with Wednesda's moves, ESPN said.