Fletcher Cox wishes he ‘would have retired on a higher note’ after Eagles’ late-season collapse

Fletcher Cox officially retired Sunday after 12 years with Eagles.

In his first interview since the announcement, the longtime defensive tackle joined The Rich Eisen Show to discuss his decision to retire and provide insight into the Eagles’ late-season struggles.

For Cox, who missed just seven games over his Eagles career due to injury, the addition of the 17th game to the NFL schedule added extra stress onto his body.

“Sometimes, I found myself asking myself, ‘Why?’” Cox told Eisen. “And I always told myself, whenever I feel that way, I know it’s time. I enjoyed it. I still feel like I played at a really high level last year, even with the ups and downs and missed some games and missing some time … Me, normally, I don’t miss games, I don’t miss practices. I kind of felt like I would be lying to myself if I told myself that I could continue to do it at a high level. So I figured it was time to call it.”

» READ MORE: David Murphy: Fletcher Cox changed the game. The Eagles need to find some true disruptors to replace him.

Last year, in 15 games, Cox finished with five sacks, three tackles for loss, and 17 QB hits — his most in a season since he was a first-team All-Pro in 2018. Cox said multiple family members and friends questioned him leaving the game while still playing at a high level, but told them he no longer wanted to play through the pain.

Helping the Eagles redeem themselves after the disastrous end to the 2023 season was also on Cox’s mind, but ultimately didn’t convince the 33-year-old to sign back on for another year.

“You want to run it back, right?” Cox said. “You want to do things like that to try to make up for, to not end the way that it ended. But then again …it goes back to putting my body back through everything. Do I wish our season would have ended better and that I would have retired on a higher note? Yes. But did it? No, but that’s part of being a pro and playing in the NFL.”

» READ MORE: Fletcher Cox leaves behind a legacy of dominance; few Eagles defensive tackles have done it better

Cox said he still didn’t know why the Eagles collapsed down the stretch, which included losing six of their last seven games, ending in a playoff loss to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild-card round.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know,” Cox said. “I still think about that, what happened to the team and our season the last six or seven weeks … I really don’t know. I still can’t put my hands on it. I still can’t grasp my head around it because our team had so much talent; we were so special; we were so close. And for us to end it that way was not the way, obviously, the city wanted that season to end, especially with what happened to us the season before [going to the Super Bowl], even the coaches, the support staff, the organization.”

» READ MORE: Here are some of Fletcher Cox’s best moments with the Eagles, on and off the field

He also refuted the idea that a toxic or disjointed locker room was the reason for the team’s issues, defending Nick Sirianni, who will return as head coach despite the season’s rough end.

“[Sirianni]’s the right guy, without a doubt,” Cox told Eisen. “I think that we had a bad little stint, those last few games. We had a bad stint, had a bad run. Listen, it’s the City of Philadelphia, right? Our fans are tough. They’re hard on you, don’t matter who you are. Like I said, Nick is the guy for us, for the Eagles, because he took us to three straight playoffs, Super Bowl appearance — so, he’s the guy. He knows how to handle the guys. He’s a player’s coach, but he’s a coach, obviously, when it’s time to get things done. He’s the guy in Philly, and I’m happy to see him still there.”

You can watch the full interview here.