Eagles Running it Back with Fletcher Cox and Others, Restructure Darius Slay
Fletcher Cox is back with the Eagles.
About 48 hours after he was released, GM Howie Roseman brought him back on a one-year deal that was finalized on Saturday morning.
It was the right move.
It wasn’t the only move made during the weekend.
The Eagles are also bringing back safety Anthony Harris and running back Boston Scott while they restructured the contract of cornerback Darius Slay to bring some more room under the salary cap.
As for the decision to bring back Cox after he was cut on Thursday, some may say Roseman let sentimentality get in the way, that Cox has been a longtime loyal member of the organization and will enter his 11th season in Philadelphia.
Some may argue that Cox’s game is in decline for the past two years.
There would be some truth to both points, but really, the reason is it’s the right move is business-related.
First, the contract is now one that is year-to-year. Cox will receive $14 million to play in 2022, down a few million from what he was supposed to get before being cut.
By going year-to-year with Cox, the Eagles can move on any time they feel that they have effectively rebuilt the defensive line, and/or Cox’s game continues to backslide.
RELATED: Philadelphia Eagles Still Need Fletcher Cox - Sports Illustrated
“I think Fletcher still can play at a high level,” said former Eagles RB Brian Westbrook on Friday at Harrah’s Atlantic City while presenting an award during the Maxwell Football Club’s annual banquet.
“And you know, last year, he was dealing with a couple of things and I think that affected him just a little bit. Also, he had a new defensive side, new defensive coordinator and they're doing different things. So, they've asked him to do some different things than he's done throughout his career.
“He didn't have the year that I thought that he should have had, but you know, still a dominant player in my mind, especially in spurts. As he continues to age - I hate to see him go, but I also understand that [in] the league, when you get a little bit older, and your play may decline just a little bit, it's time for you to go. That's just how it works.”
Rebuilding the D-line is another reason bringing back Cox was the right move.
All that’s really behind Cox that is proven is Javon Hargrave, who is in the final year of his contract, and Milton Williams, who had a solid rookie season but has to follow that up and get better in Year 2.
This year’s draft is filled with not only edge rushers, but defensive tackles, too, and with five picks on the first two days of the draft, the Eagles will likely select a DT.
The Cox decision wasn’t the only one made by the Eagles this weekend.
So far, the free agency approach taken by the team can best be described as same old, same old.
Aside from signing pass rusher Haason Reddick, the Eagles are bringing back much of the gang from a season ago.
They have been outbid for some free agents, but the contracts most of their targets have gotten are too expensive.
The Eagles were in OK salary cap shape heading into free agency, but a lot of the cap is sabotaged by dead money for four members of their 2018 draft class – Dallas Goedert, Josh Sweat, Avonte Maddox, and Jordan Mailata.
There is, however, $36.4 million tied up in players no longer providing services to the team, led by Malik Jackson’s $9.03M and followed by Derek Barnett ($7.2M), and Alshon Jeffery ($5.4).
The Eagles freed up $11.904M in cap space by converting $14.88M of Slay’s contract into a signing bonus on Saturday.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
