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Fletch

 

Today, the Eagles officially re-signed defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.  Cox was released a couple days prior (St. Patrick’s Day) with an addendum he would be quickly re-signed. 

The Good:

  • Eagle Great: Cox was a 2012 1st round selection.  He has enjoyed an excellent Philly career that includes a selection to the NFL 2012 all-rookie team, 6 Pro Bowl nods (the most ever by an Eagle DT… 2016 - 2021), 4 All-Pro selections (2014, '15, '17, '18), and membership on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.  Additionally, he was a key member of the first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history (2017). 
  • Plus/Minus: The Eagles are a worse team without Cox. In that regard, his return is welcomed. 
  • Annual Deal: The contract is now one that is year-to-year. Cox will receive $14 million to play in 2022, down a few million from what he was supposed to get before being cut.  The Eagles will save 2 million on the pair of recent transactions associated with Cox. This deal also includes 2 void years to flatten what would have been higher dead cap chargers thru the ’22 and ’23 seasons. 

The Bad:

  • Declined in 2021: Cox got off to a slow start while openly expressing he wasn’t exactly thrilled with his role in Jonathan Gannon’s defense. There was talk of the Eagles “aggressively shopping” Cox ahead of last year’s NFL trade deadline but a previous contract restructure left Philly “stuck” with his contract.  He was better the 2nd half of the season, but he was an OK+ player, not a great one.
  • Aging: At 31 Cox simply is a “high mileage” player… there’s a lot of wear-and-tear on his body.
  • Sacks: He has just 4.5 in his last 22 games despite being the NFL’s eighth-highest paid interior defender. 
  • Cost: 14M for the 1 year deal, high per recent performance.
  • League Value: Before releasing Cox (3/17), the Eagles had been listening to trade offers, just as they did before the trade deadline in the 2021 season. They never received an offer they deemed worthy.
  • ROI: Are the Eagles optimizing their resources by spending them on a declining, aging player?

The Ugly:

  • DT needed: Cox’s age & 1-year deal emphasize the need to keep further team depth at defensive tackle. 
  • Dead $: In addition to his 2022 income, Cox will show 15M+ in dead money on the Eagles 2023 cap.
  • Draft: Even with Cox, Hargrave and a promising 2nd year player to be in Milton Williams, the Eagles will likely need to select a Defensive Tackle with one of their 5 premium picks (Rounds 1-3) to help replace Cox after 2022.   

Eagles Lessons: Managing the cap and the roster is clearly integrated.  It becomes challenging when an aging, declining star is still a good player, but his annual cost has begun to exceed his value.  Issues like loyalty and effective replacement also come into play. This defines Cox for the Eagles now… ergo, he’s on a 1-year deal. 

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