Getty Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles
Fletcher Cox will continue to anchor the trenches for Jonathan Gannon’s defense despite a myriad of trade rumors. The Philadelphia Eagles had been trying to move their All-Pro defensive tackle at the deadline, but “too many obstacles” stood in the way. Cox isn’t going anywhere.
The former 12th overall pick posted an Instagram message confirming the non-move prior to the 4 p.m. deadline. He announced it with two amazing words: “Forever Philly” – and several teammates (including Lane Johnson and Brandon Graham) sent happy thoughts his way. Cox is a team captain and core veteran who ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time sack list with 55.5 sacks in 148 career games. He has been rumored to be a favorite sounding board to the front office on personnel and coaching decisions, too.
The problem with trading Cox ultimately came down to his immovable contract. The Eagles have restructured it three times in four years, including a $14 million conversion two months ago (via Spotrac). Cox’s original six-year, $102.6 million deal carries a insane $26.5 million cap hit, with $24.2 million in dead cap. Ouch.
Regarding Fletcher Cox and the possibility of a trade: from a financial standpoint it would be very surprising. The #Eagles already paid almost his entire salary this year in a conversion a few weeks ago
Cox recently discussed his legacy in midnight green ahead of the Eagles-Buccaneers game in Week 7. He doesn’t take anything for granted.
“I say it all the time, I’m very blessed to be in this position, to be here 10 years now,” Cox said. “And you see so many great players being in an organization for a certain amount of time and next thing they’re gone. So I appreciate that a lot and I don’t take it for granted at all. I show up and I respect everybody in the building every day.”
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Eagles Tried to Trade Cox: Report
According to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, the Eagles were “aggressively” trying to trade Cox. There were talks to send him to a contending team despite that massive dead cap hit. Nothing materialized.
Cox’s name surfaced in other reports, too. FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer mentioned teams had kicked the tires on the six-time Pro Bowler. And NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said rival general managers were calling the Eagles about Cox, but he didn’t foresee a trade happening. He was the first to confirm the non-trade ahead of the deadline.
The Eagles decided to hold onto Andre Dillard, too. They had been looking to receive a high second-day pick in return for the backup left tackle and weren’t willing to budge on their asking price. No “tackle-needy teams” wowed them with an offer, per Mike Kaye of NJ Advance Media. Dillard sticks around as a valuable insurance policy.
Eagles Protect Four Practice Squad Players
The Eagles protected four practice squad players amid all the trade drama: T Le’Raven Clark, WR John Hightower, RB Jordan Howard, S Elijah Riley. The biggest name on there is Howard who saw an increased role with Miles Sanders out.
The one-time Pro Bowler rushed for 57 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. The team was considering adding Howard to the 53-man roster, but obviously they will wait another week on that. He is likely to be elevated and play in Week 9.
Nick Sirianni says team is “talking through” adding Jordan Howard to active roster. He’s on the practice squad and subject to being claimed.
“That’s something we don’t have to do at this particular moment, but we’ll keep talking through it as we go.” #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly