3 Reasons 2020 is an enormous season for Eagles DT Fletcher Cox

2. Mo’ money means mo’ expectations.

Can we call 2019 an “off-year”? Well, if you’re Fletcher Cox and you’re coming off of a 40-tackle and 3.5-sack campaign, the answer would have to be a resounding yes.

At this point, everyone’s goal is and should be the same thing. It’s about Philly raising that second Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles had an out on Cox’s current deal in 2020. As you’d imagine, they didn’t exercise it. Why would they? So, as of March 22nd, he’s now guaranteed a roster bonus of $1 million.

In 2021 and 2022, he should earn additional roster bonuses of $1 million on the fifth league day. He isn’t expected to hit free agency until the 2023 offseason, so contractually, there are no issues at the moment. He’s made enough money to ensure that his grandchildren won’t have to work, so now, we’re talking about legacy.

Following what we saw during the 2019 season, sure, there are only two defensive tackles who can even argue that they’re better than “91”. He’s a surefire Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee when his playing days end, but for Cox, that can’t be Cox’s standard. We’ve now used a term that we’ve never used in conjunction with his name before, regression.

Money isn’t an issue, but if Cox is hoping to cash in on maybe one last payday before he calls it a career, he would want not to log any more years like the last one.