Fletcher Cox is returning to Philly. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran defensive tackle is returning to the Eagles.
Cox is inking a new one-year, $10MM deal with the Eagles. Schefter notes that the player turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere and took a “hometown discount” to stick around Philadelphia.
The 2012 first-round pick has spent his entire career with the Eagles, making six Pro Bowl appearances and earning four All-Pro nods. The Eagles actually released him last offseason to avoid paying him $18MM in guaranteed money, but the veteran ended up quickly re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. He earned $14MM in 2022, so he’ll be taking a slight pay cut for the 2023 campaign.
Cox is two years removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance but is still a productive member of the Eagles defense. He finished last season having started all 17 games, compiling 43 tackles and seven sacks. The 32-year-old got into all three postseason games for Philly, as well, adding another six tackles and one sack. He only finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ 67th interior defender (among 127 qualifiers), the first time he’s finished outside the top-30 at his position since 2013.
Even with the reduced production, the Eagles were surely more than happy to welcome Cox back. The defending NFC Champions have lost a number of defenders during the early stages of free agency, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker T.J. Edwards, safety Marcus Epps, and linebacker Kyzir White.
As Schefter noted in his initial report, Cox turned down more lucrative offers from other suitors. One team that reached out to Cox was the New York Jets, per ESPN’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter).
no, this might kill any chance for CJGJ
No they are gonna restructure lane Johnson prolly get them another 10 mil
if that was going to be 100% the case, this would have been done days ago at worst they better not lose CJGJ cause of Fletcher Cox.
Howie is a WIZARD.
How so? I mean related to this deal.
I don’t understand this. I thought they way overpaid him last year and now this year too? I figured he’d latch on somewhere at the league minimum. Who is paying an old Fletcher Cox over $10 million. This makes no sense with the Eagles cap situation. I guess I don’t know football at all.
They have no safeties, not enough linebackers, 1 starting CB, no decent backup TE, no depth on the O line, no Punter, terrible special teams and they have to sign their draft picks. Cox is old and washed up. I figured he latch on at the league minimum somewhere. I don’t get this at all.
I agree with everything you said other then Cox signing for the vet minimum somewhere. while he is no-where near as good as he was 4-5yrs ago, but he is definitely a lot better than the vet minimum type of player
They didn’t lose that many players.
Not for nothing, they were in the Super Bowl in February. The way you describe them you might think they were 3 and 14.
They lost quite a few truth be told here. Just because they were in the Super Bowl doesn’t mean they can’t regress with a bad off-season
Woohoo! Welcome back Fletch!
I thought he’d get the same 6 million that Brandon Graham got, not 10.
$10mil was his hometown discount from what he was offered elsewhere, Graham wasn’t seeing $14mil anywhere.