Philadelphia Eagles: Fletcher Cox’s contract is borderline untradeable

For a time in October of 2021, Fletcher Cox was one of the hottest names on the trade market.

Once considered the best pure defensive tackle in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles‘ second-longest tenured player was pursued heavily by many a playoff team looking for a reliable pocket-collapser who wasn’t quite the player he once was but was still good enough to get the job done in an established ensemble. Howie Roseman, to his credit, kept Cox informed the entire time, according to Ian Rapoport, and ultimately chose not to move off of his $100 million defensive anchors, but as was stated then, talks were expected to resume this offseason, with a trade still very much a possibility.

According to Ian Rapoport, again, that day has again come.

Now granted, it’s entirely possible Fletcher Cox is still a member of the Philadelphia Eagles when the regular season opens up this fall. If traded, he won’t command the same level of compensation that the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts surrendered for Khalil Mack and DeForest Buckner, but if the right deal comes along, Howie Roseman shouldn’t slam down the phone. Unfortunately, Cox’s contract makes that very hard to pull off in 2022.

There isn’t a realistic deal for Fletcher Cox and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Was 2021 a “down year” for Fletcher Cox? Yes. He had the second-fewest sacks of his career, only recorded 35 combined tackles, and had far fewer difference-making plays than fans in the City of Brotherly Love have become accustomed to.

Was Flecher Cox still a really good contributor for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021? Yes, yes, he was.

How can those both be true? Well, because Cox’s contributions don’t exclusively show up on the stats sheet.

When Cox, even at 31, is on the field, offenses key in on where he’s lined up. If he’s lined up over the right guard’s outside shoulder, centers will call it out. If he’s over center, a guard will have to kick in before rolling out to support the tackle. Even if Cox doesn’t draw a double-team per se, his resume alone makes offenses take note, especially with another power rusher like Javon Hargrave at the other tackle spot.

If the Eagles supported Cox with an elite defensive end like, say, Chandler Jones, the soon-to-be ex-Arizona Cardinal who the team is reportedly interested in, his game would give opposing quarterbacks fits. His prime can be maximized, and the former first-round pick can ride off into the sunset as a career-long Philadelphian.

Assuming that’s the route Roseman opts to go, no one would really fault him. Cox is a good locker room guy, a fan favorite, and a pillar of the team’s Super Boal championship team. But it isn’t the only option on the table. No, the Eagles could move off of Cox now, before his game really starts to break down and cash out some short-term production for a longer-term asset.

That’s really the entire concept behind NFL team-building, right? Short-term production versus long-term assets? If a team is close, like the Eagles were in 2017, then trading a Day 3 draft pick for a proven running back like Jay Ajayi makes sense. Sure, the Eagles could have drafted a running back like Kalen Ballage with that pick, which is exactly who the Miami Dolphins used their acquired draft pick on, but he wouldn’t have helped the team down the stretch in 2017 and wouldn’t have put the team over the top in their pursuit of a Super Bowl ring.

Just for the sake of conversation, let’s say Cox has two not Pro Bowl-caliber but really good years left. A team taking on Cox’s massive contract knows that they will be getting a diminishing player and that in 2024, the final year of his deal, he probably won’t be worth the money they are paying him. Would that team trade a first or even second-round pick for Cox? No, not unless they are literally a player away from the Super Bowl.

So, assuming Cox isn’t the one looking for a trade and is unwilling to restructure his contract to make a deal more manageable, would the Eagles really accept a Day 2 or even Day 3 draft pick for his services if it means making on $25 million in dead cap space which is roughly $16 more than the team would pay if they just kept him around?

No, I don’t think there is a world where that happens.

In the NFL, it’s always better to move off of a player early than try to trade them once their value is gone. The Philadelphia Eagles masterfully made this decision when they traded Carson Wentz to Indianapolis for a third and a first one year before the Colts made a deal with Washington for a pair of thirds. Would it be wise to move off of Cox now when he still has value? Sure, but when the value-added would wipe out much of the team’s spending power in free agency, it might make more sense to spend the difference – $10 or so million – on an actual player instead of a mid-level draft pick.