Fletcher Cox is returning to Philly. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the veteran defensive tackle is returning to the Eagles.
Cox is inking a new one-year, $10M deal with the Eagles. Schefter notes that the player turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere and took a “hometown discount” to stick around Philadelphia.
The 2012 first-round pick has spent his entire career with the Eagles, making six Pro Bowl appearances and earning four All-Pro nods. The Eagles actually released him last offseason to avoid paying him $18M in guaranteed money, but the veteran ended up quickly re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. He earned $14M in 2022, so he’ll be taking a slight pay cut for the 2023 campaign.
Cox is two years removed from his last Pro Bowl appearance but is still a productive member of the Eagles defense. He finished last season having started all 17 games, compiling 43 tackles and seven sacks.
The 32-year-old got into all three postseason games for Philly, as well, adding another six tackles and one sack. He only finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ 67th interior defender (among 127 qualifiers), the first time he’s finished outside the top-30 at his position since 2013.
Even with the reduced production, the Eagles were surely more than happy to welcome Cox back. The defending NFC Champions have lost a number of defenders during the early stages of free agency, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebacker T.J. Edwards, safety Marcus Epps, and linebacker Kyzir White.
As Schefter noted in his initial report, Cox turned down more lucrative offers from other suitors. One team that reached out to Cox was the New York Jets, per ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
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