Fletcher Cox Trade Rumors Reemerge

Philadelphia nearly traded the veteran DT at the trade deadline this season and a move remains a possibility

The Eagles nearly dealt Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox at the trade deadline last season with Las Vegas and Pittsburgh believed to be among the suitors for the veteran star.

Now it seems the door could be open again for Cox, 31, to be shipped out of Philadelphia, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

With all these big names being dealt, who could be the next? Last year, #Eagles Pro Bowl DT Fletcher Cox was nearly dealt at the trade deadline, and teams around the league have continued to call on him. Considering the D-line movement around the league, it’s something to watch.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2022

On paper, trading Cox would seem to be problematic from a salary-cap standpoint for the Eagles until after June 1 due to a number of restructures that have kicked the can down the road on the six-time Pro Bowl selection's massive deal.

According to Over the Cap, trading Cox pre-June 1 would be virtually untenable with $40,927,760 in dead money and nearly $26M in cap space eaten up. Post-June 1 those numbers would decrease to nearly $12.9 in dead money and the Eagles would gain slightly over $2M in cap space.

Later on the calendar would mean any draft compensation for Cox coming back to Philadelphia, and the Eagles were believed to be offered two second-day picks for Cox at the trade deadline last year, would be of the 2023 variety.

There is a bit of a mystery option to the deal that would make it easier to trade Cox in the short-term, according to salary-cap experts Jason Fitzgerald of OTC and Brad Spielberger of ProFootballFocus.com.

There is a path to do it because ibelieve there is an option in the contract. Will try to check later but this was designed in a way to allow a way out, however slim it may be

— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 11, 2022

Per Spielberger's reading of the contract language, the Eagles would take on $25M in dead money and lose $10M in cap space if they traded Cox pre-June 1 which is far more palatable.

My reading of the Fletcher Cox contract:

Eagles would take on $25M in dead cap and lose $10M in cap space if traded. OTC has it listed differently for a very complicated (but rational) reason I won't try to explain.

Still tough for Philly to make the move, but not impossible

— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@SpielbergerBrad) March 11, 2022

What can be said about NFL information brokers like Rapoport is that news is always dropped for a reason so don’t discount the Cox trial balloon.

Cox and then-rookie defensive coordinator Johnathan Gannon got off to a bit of a rough start in 2021 to the point Cox verbalized some unhappiness at the way he was being used after years of excelling as an almost full-time three-technique in Jim Schwartz's schemes.

The two seemed to work out any issues during the Eagles' 6-2 stretch run, however.

Overall, Cox had a down year by his standards, though, with 3 1/2 sacks in 16 games, halting his run of six consecutive Pro Bowl berths.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.