The Indianapolis Colts have released their offensive line starter Gosder Cherilus two years on his current five-year, $35 million contract on Sunday due to the seven-year veteran's recurring knee problems, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Like Us on Facebook

The 31-year-old Cherilus, who was let go a week and a day before official training camp starts, is coming off a knee operation in January this year which sidelined him for the last two weeks of the 2014 regular season.

While it may seem like a surprise for most Colts fans, Cherilus' agent Greg Diulus said that the team's management had been talking to them about the plan for quite some time before the official announcement was made public. And while Diulus admitted that he and his client were "contractually uncomfortable", they cannot do anything about it.

Diulus insisted, though, that Cherilus is currently in great shape and "very much looking forward to the season" if only given the chance, but the Colts do not want to take the risk of having him get injured again.

Indianapolis had been preparing for this moment throughout the summer as second-year pro Jack Mewhort took Cherilus' usual position in the team's offensive line during the OTAs and minicamp.

Bleacher Report indicated that the former Ohio State standout played Cherilus' right tackle spot briefly last season when the latter was injured, but he was not that effective. Colts general manager Ryan Grigson wanted Mewhort to stay in the position, which led to the coaching staff working him out at the spot during the offseason training.

With Mewhort secured at right tackle, head coach Chuck Pagano's concern is how to fill up the 23-year-old's old position, the left tackle. Analysts believe that promising young star Anthony Castonzo will fill-in at the left.

Meanwhile, Dan Hanzus of the NFL's official website said that Cherilus' rehabilitation did not "progressed quickly" as planned. Because of the slow recovery, the 6-foot-7, 316-pound Haitian-American missed almost all of the summer's training, which led to the team's decision to finally let him go.

Cherilus earned $16.5 million during the first two years of his contract, but the remaining $18.5 million was unguaranteed, which would provide the Colts a much-needed salary cap relief.

There are no teams reported to have an interest in signing Cherilus as of the moment.

TagsNFL, NFL 2015, NFL news, NFL News 2015, NFL rumors, NFL Rumors 2015, Gosder Cherilus, Indianapolis Colts