Trent Cole Sacks No. 58 in Jersey Countdown to Kickoff
Right out of the gate, Trent Cole wasted little time proving he should have been picked higher than the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
He had five sacks as a rookie for the Eagles while playing in 15 games with just seven starts. He was a starter for the next nine seasons in Philly and he had only less than five sacks in that time wearing an Eagles uniform.
Wearing the No. 58, Cole set himself apart from the rest of the field who wore that number in team history, which makes him the top-ranked player at the number in our jersey countdown to kickoff.
Fifty-eight is also the number of days until the Eagles are supposed to open their regular season on Sept. 13 against Washington in Landover, Md.
There were some memorable names to wear the No. 58.
Did they make the list?
Here it is:
Current number 58:
Genard Avery. Is he a defensive end or a linebacker? Probably a hybrid. The Eagles got him at last year’s trade deadline from the Cleveland Browns, but never really found his niche. He managed just 33 defensive snaps in eight games after his arrival. With an offseason to figure him out, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz may find more of a role for the 6-foot, 250-pound 25-year-old.
Top 3 to wear number 58:
3. Ike Reese. Special teamers are people, too, and Reese was one of the best on those units in an Eagles career that spanned seven seasons from 1998-2004 before ending his career with two years in Atlanta.
Reese, who was a fifth-round pick out of Michigan State, played in 112 games with the Eagles but made just two starts at linebacker. Nowadays, he can be heard weekdays on 94WIP Sports Radio as a host.
2. Jordan Hicks. If only Hicks could have stayed away from injury, he may still be in Philly rather than Arizona. The talent was always there; the health not so much. He even got hurt on his honeymoon.
In four years with the Eagles, he stayed healthy for only full season and that was 2016, which was the year he also led the team in interceptions with five. As a rookie in 2015, he had a pick-6 in Dallas, but got hurt after that and played in just eight games.
He played in just 43 of a possible 64 games during his time in Philly.
Hicks always seemed to be around the ball, though, when he did play, as his six fumble recoveries in his four seasons in Philly would attest.
1. Trent Cole. The defensive end was as consistent as they come, always hovering around the double-digit sack total his entire 10-year stay with the Eagles. He posted four seasons of double-digit sacks with his career-high of 12.5 coming twice, once in 2007 and again in 2009, which were both of his Pro Bowl seasons.
He is second on the Eagles’ all-time sack list with 88.5, behind Reggie White’s 124. There is nobody close to taking Cole’s spot at the moment, either, as Brandon Graham is in fifth with 51 and Fletcher Cox in seventh with 48.
He finished with 90.5 career sacks after two final years with the Colts.
Runner-Up:
Anthony Griggs. A fourth-round pick of the Eagles in 1982, he spent most of his four years in Philly starting at linebacker. He played in 57 games with 48 starts. Griggs’ college career started at Villanova, but he ended up transferring to Ohio State.
Others: Dave Cahill, Mel Tom, Bob Creech, Rocky Colavito, Terry Tautolo, Anthony Griggs, Byron Lee, Ty Allert, Derrick Oden, Whit Marshall, and L.J. Fort.
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