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Fletcher Cox had never experienced the joys of free agency prior to the 2023 offseason. He was drafted 12th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 and the contract extensions piled up from there. Cox, a six-time Pro Bowler, never felt the need to test the waters.
The 32-year-old ultimately decided to return for what will be his 12th season in a midnight green jersey. Cox — a card-carrying member of the Eagles’ so-called Core Four — considers Philly home and the decision to come back was an easy one.
“It was one of them things of making sure I’m making the right decision for myself,” Cox told reporters on July 26. “Making sure this is where I wanted to be, and where I was wanted, and I think I made the right decision to come back. Hey, I’m here for 12 years, enjoy it.”
However, Cox wanted to let everyone know that he did receive other offers in free agency. There were reports of a possible reunion with Jim Schwartz on the Cleveland Browns, but the talks never got too serious. Cox decided to leave them on the table.
“I didn’t want to go nowhere,” Cox said. “I thought about it. There were offers on the table, but I wanted to be here and that’s where I am now.”
Mentoring Rookie Jalen Carter
Eagles rookie Jalen Carter was generating a lot of buzz on Day 1 of training camp. He excelled in red-zone drills and beat Landon Dickerson on a rep to get a quarterback pressure. The 9th overall pick from April’s draft flashed often at Wednesday’s practice while making a real impression on the Eagles veterans.
“The biggest thing is to get in and learn,” Fletcher Cox said. “Learn the defense, learn how to practice as a pro. Learning the new environment of being around a lot of media and let go of the distractions, but overall he’s going to be a really good player for us.”
Cox and Jordan Davis anchored the starting defensive tackle spots, with Carter taking second-team reps. But the future Eagles Hall of Famer was keeping an eye on the 6-foot-3, 314-pounder from the sideline. Cox has been dropping knowledge on Carter since he was in a similar spot during his rookie year in 2012.
“My rookie year was rough, we were 4-12, so I think that’s probably one of the worst feelings you can get as a rookie coming in,” Cox said. “But for [Jalen], attack each day and every day get better. And I think that’s what’s going to help him. He’s in that second group and there’s some guys in that second group that have been playing for a while so he’s going to get a chance to get up to speed.”
Eagles Dealing with Pre-Snap Penalties
The Eagles looked a bit rusty at their first summer practice. The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane counted six pre-snap penalties on the day, including a few NSFW outbursts from Nick Sirianni. The head coach yelled at Tyler Steen for a false start, then chided Janarius Robinson for jumping offsides. It’s early. Those kinks will get worked out.
“It’s early on, you’re going to have mistakes,” Jason Kelce said. “Our big emphasis right now is going in there and finding out what led to the mistakes. The pre-snap penalties, the missed assignments, all that stuff, and iron it out just continue to get better each and every day.”
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