The Philadelphia Eagles have released defensive lineman Corey Simon after he would not end his holdout. The Eagles put the franchise tag on Simon, which he was not pleased with.

The Eagles removed the franchise-tag, meaning that Simon is now a free-agent. The team will not be re-signing him, and are happy with their current linemen.

"I didn't expect them to lift the tag," said Simon. "This gives me a chance to be a free agent, but I have mixed feelings. I'm going to miss the guys I played with there and the coaches I played under. I had a great five years, and I enjoyed every minute of it."

Eagles' head coach Andy Reid was upset that it had to come down to this, but will move on.

"We appreciate all that Corey has done for this organization over the last five years," Reid said. "With the great amount of depth and talent we have along the defensive line, we chose to give Corey an opportunity to sign with another team."

Simon was named to the Pro Bowl in 2003. He was the team's first round draft pick in 2000.

Simon will have a heavy market after him, as he certainly has the talent to perform at a high level.