Getty Fletcher Cox #91 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field on December 26, 2021.
The race to sign Fletcher Cox is on after the Philadelphia Eagles released the All-Pro defensive tackle on Thursday. The team released him with a post-June 1 designation to save $18 million in fully guaranteed money, according to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo.
The Eagles are hoping to bring Cox back at a reduced salary assuming no one else throws money at him. Which is a huge if. The six-time Pro Bowler is free to negotiate with any team and contenders are already lining up. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones immediately tagged Cox on Twitter with the “eyes” emoji. Seconds later, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay re-posted it and wrote: “Stay back!!!”
The Chiefs would make a lot of sense for Cox considering Derrick Nnadi and Jarran Reed are free agents. Remember, Andy Reid drafted Cox with the 12th overall pick in 2012 when he was the head coach in Philly. They only had one year together but the connection is significant. Cox had 5.5 sacks that year as a rotational pass rusher. He had to learn on the fly.
“He told me that he brought me here to play,” Cox said about his rookie year under Reid, via NJ Advance Media. “From that point on, he told me that I had to learn fast, because I’m here to play. He told me I wasn’t here to be a backup, he brought me here to start right away.”
From Free Agency Frenzy on @nflnetwork on sources telling me and @RapSheet (I left him out of the initial tweet by accident 😬) the #Eagles have released DT Fletcher Cox … but hope to bring him back.
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Zach Ertz Recruiting Cox to Arizona
Jones wasn’t the only person recruiting Cox to change uniforms. Zach Ertz – his former teammate in Philly – jumped on Twitter to invite the 310-pounder out to the desert. Ertz was drafted one year after Cox in 2013.
Former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook never played with Cox, but he was quick to comment on the cost-cutting move. He sounded worried about the state of the Eagles’ defensive line without Cox’s veteran leadership. He finished with just 3.5 sacks last season in what was viewed as a down year.
I have to wonder which direction the D Line is headed without @fcoxx_91 . He can still be a dominant player!
Cox Pondered Own Future Back in January
The Eagles are crossing their fingers that Cox goes unsigned and rejoins the nest in 2022. However, the amount of interest he is already drawing on the open market has his Philly future in jeopardy. They didn’t think the 10-year veteran was worth $18 million, but someone else might.
Fletcher Cox has been released by the Eagles, per @MikeGarafolo
Cox had restructured his contract in each of the past two seasons and wasn’t going to do it again. He made his intentions clear when he met with reporters back in January.
“I’ve made it clear, I think I’m happy where I am right now,” Cox said on January 18. “And if you want to ask me any questions about that [my future] I can probably give you Todd France’s number and he can update you on that. Other than that, I’m not open to talking about any type of contract situations or me being here.”