Has Fletcher Cox played his last game for the Eagles? He indicates he hasn’t decided on his future.
As Cox could depart, Jordan Davis ponders a future defensive line without the 33-year-old Super Bowl champion.
On Wednesday afternoon, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox had already cleaned out his locker once filled with relics from his 12 seasons spent with the Eagles by the time reporters flocked to his stall.
But even with the backdrop of empty shelves behind him just two days removed from the Eagles’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round, the pending unrestricted free agent said he hasn’t thought about his future. The 33-year-old Cox wasn’t going to put a timeline on when he expects to make a decision on his next steps, either.
“There’s no timeline on greatness,” Cox joked.
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He continued: “There’s no timeline. There’s kind of no thoughts going in my head at all about … I love this game. I give this everything I got every week in and week out. I try to be the best teammate, the best leader I can. And really the best mentor for these young guys. Love being around them. They kind of make me feel young, like I said earlier. So it’s been exciting. And like I said, it’s gonna be one of them things I really got to think about. Haven’t thought about it yet. But we’ll see.”
Cox had signed a one-year deal in March to return to the Eagles and continue to lead a relatively young defensive front including the likes of 24-year-old Jordan Davis and 22-year-old Jalen Carter. While Cox wasn’t ready to comment on his own future with the Eagles, Davis spoke as if he doesn’t expect Cox to return next season.
“I knew it was coming,” Davis said. “But I didn’t know it was gonna come this early. When you watch a guy growing up, it’s kind of like your hero. And so I got a chance to work with him every day. Very fortunate. And we got to see him walk away. Granted, he walked away on his own terms, which is a lot better than a lot of people can say in this league.
“But when you have to watch him walk away, it kind of hurts. It stings. And it hurts me more so because I didn’t get a chance to send him out the right way. Didn’t get to send him out riding into the sunset. It’s kind of like we crashed and burned and he got to walk out. He got to limp out. He got to crawl out.”
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Davis said that Cox didn’t tell him explicitly that he wasn’t planning on making a return to the team next season. Still, Davis spoke of the importance of growing into a leadership role in the absence of Cox. For Davis’ two seasons on the Eagles, Cox has been a “security blanket” in terms of his steady leadership presence, but now the young corps needs to shoulder that responsibility.
The young defensive tackle also suggested that defensive end Brandon Graham, another unrestricted free agent this offseason who signed a one-year deal last year, will return to the Eagles next season.
“It’s crazy that [Graham]’s coming back for another year,” Davis said. “I didn’t expect that. My thinking was that he was gonna leave after the Super Bowl. I thought that was the right time to do it. But I’m glad that he came back for another year.”
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In his 12th season with the Eagles, Cox played 15 games and started each one of them, taking 58.9% of the total defensive snaps this season (684). Despite missing two games, Cox played the most snaps among Eagles interior defensive linemen ahead of Carter (48.4%, 563) and Davis (44.7%, 519).
Cox finished the season with five sacks, 17 quarterback hits, three tackles for a loss, two pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, according to Pro Football Reference. His 17 quarterback hits ranked third on the team behind Haason Reddick (23) and Josh Sweat (23) and his five sacks ranked fourth behind Reddick (11), Sweat (6½), and Carter (six).
According to Pro Football Focus, Cox generated a total of 43 pressures, which is tied for No. 22 in the league among interior defensive linemen. With his 12th season in the books, Cox said he “played at a really high level.”
“When you turn the tape on, I feel like I dominated games, took over games and, number one, was a good teammate, good leader,” Cox said.
The Eagles selected Cox No. 12 overall in the 2012 draft out of Mississippi State. During his tenure with the Eagles, Cox was a member of the Super Bowl LII-winning team in 2017. He was named to the Pro Bowl six times, which is the most by an Eagles defensive tackle, and earned a first-team All-Pro nod once.
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When the Eagles selected Davis No. 13 overall in the 2022 draft out of Georgia, he figured to be the heir apparent to Cox as a starter. On the night of the draft, Davis said Cox was “one of those guys you want to emulate and be like.” Davis spent the last two seasons working alongside Cox and growing close to him on and off the field, making it a challenge for Davis to come to terms with their impending separation.
“It’s kind of like a period of mourning,” Davis said. Because it’s like these are people that you developed relationships for over the course of two months, over the course of eight months, over a year, two years that I’ve been here. It never gets easier. It just always [stinks].
“We’re losing ... he’s like a pillar. He’s like a pillar of this organization. So very big shoes to fill, but going to do it my way. But we can’t negate the fact that he’s leaving.”