Eagles' Fletcher Cox doubles as 'Uncle Bugeye'

EVERY DAY after practice, Fletcher Cox arrives at the spot under his nameplate near the middle of the Eagles' locker room in the NovaCare Complex and - before he rips off the white tape from his cleats or sheds his excess of sweat-resistant clothing - he checks his phone, like almost every other player.

But the 24-year-old defensive end isn't scrolling through pictures of models on Instagram or checking the latest news on Twitter. Instead, he's spending at least five or so minutes answering a never-ending slew of text messages from friends and relatives to keep them updated on his life and check in to see if they need anything.

Cox, a self-proclaimed family man, has a twin sister, Fantasia, and an older sister, Nakeia, 31. Between his two sisters, Cox is an uncle to four children.

Cox also has a 7-year-old nephew and a 2-year-old niece fathered by his brother, Shaddrick, who died of a heart attack Jan. 5 at the age of 34. Cox describes his brother as "a father figure" and his "best friend." His biological father is alive but chose long ago not to be a part of Cox's family.

Since Shaddrick's death, Cox has done his best to give his nieces and nephews what his older brother gave him: a father figure.

"It's more of a respect thing, like they respect me. Really, none of my nieces and nephews' father is around, and it's six of them and they all call me 'Uncle Bugeye,' " Cox said. "But I look at myself as the male figure in their life, that's how I look at it with all of them."

Cox is especially vocal about his relationship with Shaddrick's son, T.J.

Whenever Cox returns home to Yazoo City, Miss., he brings T.J. to his auto shop, where he has full reign to play and explore the world that Cox fell in love with during his childhood. Cox doesn't let T.J. work on any of the customers' cars - not yet, he said - but he sets aside a personal set of parts for his nephew to experiment with.

As a teenager, Shaddrick would take Cox to Junkyard #1 Speedway in Canton, Miss., to watch races, and then to his auto shop where he taught his little brother the ropes of fixing and racing cars.

But once Fletcher, a 6-4, 300-pound behemoth, started to gain national recognition for his athletic ability at Yazoo City High School - he starred in football, basketball and track and field - Shaddrick told him that he needed to start focusing on what was going to get him out of Yazoo City - which meant no more cars, for now.

Cox, who went on to play at Mississippi State for three seasons before being drafted 12th overall by the Eagles, said he couldn't dream of replacing his brother's place in T.J.'s life, but he'll do anything to make his nephew happy. And if that means playing with car parts and getting dirty, then Cox is all for it.

"He'd always say, 'If my daddy was here . . . ,' and 'Me and my daddy did this,' and 'Me and my daddy did that.' My brother used to always take his son to my shop and I kept that going," Cox said. "Every day when he got out of school, I'd say, 'C'mon, man. Let's go to the shop,' or 'Let's go hang out at the shop,' and let him get oily, digging in tools, and just whatever he likes to do."

Cox and T.J. keep in touch via FaceTime at least a few times per week during the season.

Their conversations are often lighthearted, poking fun at each other and rattling off inside jokes. But T.J. is one of Cox's biggest critics, too.

"He's a realist; to be 7 years old, he's a realist," Cox said of his nephew. "If we lose, then he says, 'I got tired of watching the game because y'all were losing.' I mean, that's the thing about it for him is the enjoyment. And him being 7 years old, I understand that losing is unacceptable for him."

It's a fairly safe bet that T.J. had some choice words for his "Uncle Bugeye" after the 3-4 Eagles' loss to the undefeated Carolina Panthers Sunday night.

But it's hard for anyone to be critical of Cox's individual performance this season. Regarded as one of the best defensive linemen in the game, Cox has recorded 30 combined tackles to go with a career-high three forced fumbles and five sacks, one more than he had all of last season, through seven games this year. Cox's career high of 5 1/2 sacks came as a rookie in 2012.

It would be easy to assume Shaddrick's death lit a fire under Cox and knocked an entire block off his shoulder, but one of Cox's closest friends and teammates believes that, despite what people might think, Cox has had that edge from the very beginning.

"He always had a chip on his shoulder, so I guess there was just more motivation and fuel to what drives him," defensive tackle Bennie Logan said. "Whenever you lose a loved one who's always been in your life, you always want to dedicate something to them.

"I think he's really dedicating his craft to his brother and letting his brother be proud even though he's not here with him. He always wants to play for his brother, and play with a purpose and a passion."