The Eagles solidifying the long-term future of defensive lineman Fletcher Cox once seemed like a formality for the 2016 offseason. As the weeks have gone by and Cox's contract status has remained unaddressed, that situation has become more murky. For the second offseason in a row, Cox's name has been constantly included in perspective trade talks by fans and analysts alike. With the organization having locked up several of their young, homegrown players the omission of Cox from that group has been curious.
It is hard to argue that Fletcher Cox is not the most talented player on the Eagles roster. In a league where defenders are getting paid at record clips, it stands to reason that the All-Pro talent would seek to maximize his value. According to a report from Howard Eskin of Fox29 that was citedin an article by Ryan Quigley of Insidetheiggles.com, Cox and his representation have bunkered down and the negotiations have hit a standstill at an astronomical number.
This is ridiculous because Fletcher Cox, a lot of these guys listen too much to their agent. His agent is Todd France. The Eagles, I have been told, offered him over $60 million guaranteed. Now, the contract would be over $100 million, but Todd France has told Fletcher Cox not to accept that and that’s ridiculous because the Eagles could have his rights for three years. The year the contract left this year, they can franchise him two more years, $60 million guaranteed, and Fletcher Cox is not a guy that spends a lot of money, but Todd France represents other defensive linemen, so, and people believe this in football, that he’s trying to get an unbelievable deal for Fletcher Cox so his other players’ scale of salary would increase and he’d use this to try to get those guys more money. It’s ridiculous that Fletcher Cox has not signed a contract, which guarantees him over $60 million. And a couple years ago, he had some back issues and, I mean, any player can go down, so that’s the problem. The Eagles have offered him a lot of money and his agent, Todd France, said “Nope,” and I think he’s using Fletcher Cox for his other players down the line.
One has to wonder how much the Eagles would move off that number, if at all. Howie Roseman is a Joe Banner protege and likely shares his salary-cap philosophies as far as making sure the team has a sticking point when it comes to these types of negotiations. The Eagles are in an advantageous situation in that they can conceivably control the next two years of Cox's future between his current contract and the franchise tag designation going forward. While the two sides run the risk of a holdout should it get to that point, it's hard to imagine that there would be much wiggle from management.
Somers Price is a contributor for Eagledelphia.com and can be followed on Twitter @somersprice
