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The Eagles and former Chargers running back Ryan Mathews have reached agreement on three-year, $11.5 million deal that includes $5 million guaranteed, a deal first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

From a fantasy football perspective, the appeal is obvious: Mathews will help fill the void left by the Eagles' trade of running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills.

The team thought it had an agreement with former Frank Gore earlier this week but the San Francisco 49ers running back changed his mind and instead signed a three-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts.

Mathews, 27, was selected No. 12 overall by the San Diego Chargers in the 2010 draft. In five seasons with the Chargers, Mathews rushed for 4,061 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He's also totaled 146 receptions for 1,110 yards and a score.

Mathews had his best season in 2013, playing a full, 16-game season for the first time and finishing with a career-high 1,255 yards.

However, injuries plagued the Fresno State product in 2014, as he only played six games and was limited to 156 snaps on offense due to knee and ankle injuries. Mathews finished with 380 yards and three touchdowns in 2014, averaging a team-high 4.5 yards per carry.

All that said, NFL.com's Conor Orr contends Mathews will be a solid fit in Chip Kelly's offense despite the fact that his reception numbers have decreased over the past three seasons. Orr suggests that decline looks like more of a lack of opportunity than anything else.

Orr added: "The nice thing about Mathews is that, above anything else, his fumble numbers have decreased over the years -- he's been down to two each of the last two seasons -- and his yards per attempt have rebounded nicely. ..."

The change will be a welcome one after Mathews' attempts per game cut sliced in half last year thanks to a pair of injuries -- sprained MCL and ankle -- and the emergence of Branden Oliver.

Worth noting, Schefter reports the arrival of Mathews does not end Philadelphia's pursuit of DeMarco Murray.

Really?

That's an interesting notion. ... Given the trade sending Nick Foles to the Rams in exchange for Sam Bradford and the loss of Jeremy Maclin to the Chiefs via free agency, the interest in running backs makes sense.

But how many does lead backs does a team need?

The answer, of course, is one healthy one. Injuries have been an issue for Mathews. But if they're enough of a concern that the team is still pursuing Murray, why sign Mathews at all?

Right now, as with all of Kelly's moves since taking over the team's personnel decisions, there are more questions than answers. Stay tuned.

Which brings us to another point.

In addressing the media today, Kelly made very clear: The Eagles are all in on Bradford and have no plans -- now anyway -- to make a draft day play for Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

"Let's dispel that right now," Kelly said. "I think that stuff's crazy. You guys have been going with that stuff all along. I think Marcus is the best quarterback in the draft. We will never mortgage our future to go all the way up to get somebody like that because we have too many holes to take care of."

Kelly later said that a team had offered a first-round pick in exchange for Bradford on Wednesday morning. Kelly expressed confidence in his in-house options, which include recently re-signed Mark Sanchez. Kelly was asked if Bradford was his quarterback moving forward.

"Both Sam and Mark are," he said. "And I think we have to have two. It was really essential for us to get Mark back here and then when the opportunity with St. Louis came up to get Sam, same exact thing. Do you want to lose Nick Foles? No, you don't want to lose Nick Foles, but you have to give something up to get something.

"The deal with Sam Bradford, if he never tore his ACL, he'd never be traded."

Kelly recruited Mariota when the coach was at Oregon, leading to months of speculation that the Eagles will attempt to move up in the first round to select the Heisman Trophy winner. Mariota is expected to be a top 10 pick; the Eagles select 20th overall on April 30 in Chicago.