Fletcher Cox’s restructure doesn’t mean Eagles go on a spending spree
The Philadelphia Eagles may have restructured Fletcher Cox’s deal, but that doesn’t mean that ‘The Birds’ will go on a spending spree.
Kudos for Fletcher Cox. At the beginning of the week, the man who might be the Philadelphia Eagles‘ best player on defense took one for the team when he restructured his current deal.
According to multiple reports, including one from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Philly now has $6.5 million in cap space that they didn’t have before, and they’ll also have an additional $11.5 million available for the 2019 season.
Here’s Shefter’s tweet that came shortly after dinner on Monday”
Eagles restructured contract of Pro-Bowl DT Fletcher Cox on Friday, creating $6.5 million more of cap space this season and $11.7 million more next season, sources tell @mortreport and me. But Eagles have not pursued a trade for Le’Veon Bell and have no plans to, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 8, 2018
What does all of this mean?
Some of the immediate reaction in the media and in the Eagles’ fan base is Philly will now use that money to go out and land a running back. While that may still be in everybody’s ‘crystal ball’, including the Eagles themselves, expensive options like Le’Veon Bell are probably off of the team’s radar.
Look for them to go the route of adding a less expensive option at running back, possibly via a trade. For now, it appears as though Cox’s restructure was done, primarily, so Philly can keep their own guys in house.
Guys like Ronald Darby and Brandon Graham need new deals. So does Jordan Hicks, and Carson Wentz will, no doubt, be cashing in next year or after his fourth season concludes. Those are just some of the highlights.
You also can’t forget about guys like Jay Ajayi (if he is indeed part of Philly’s long-term plans). His current deal ends after this season.
Here’s what Shefter and Chris Mortensen had to say in an interesting story they collaborated on after the news hit:
"The Eagles created this cap space to be better positioned to re-sign their own players in each of the next two seasons, but it also gives them added flexibility in the event they decide to pursue a trade for another player."
As far Cox, his new deal simply means this. Much of his salary is now transformed into a signing bonus that will now be spread out over the four years he has remaining on his deal. In short, it’s a little more pocket change for the big man.