Eagles star Fletcher Cox isn’t being held accountable by Jonathan Gannon

We’ve known this for a while, but Fletcher Cox can officially be placed in that category of ‘made men’ who wear Philadelphia Eagles jerseys. Jonathan Gannon settled that for us on the Tuesday following Philly’s loss to the two-time defending AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Long ago, probably after the third Pro Bowl nod designation in 2017), something happened. Cox went from being fair game in Eagles-related debates to someone who became impossible to criticize. If anyone forgot this, they’d be attacked on social media without mercy.

Fans aren’t allowed to criticize Fletcher Cox, and by the looks of things, the Eagles coaching staff isn’t either.

Jonathan Gannon appears to be a Fletcher Cox enabler.

In a recent sitdown with the Philly media, as you might imagine, Jonathan Gannon was asked about Fletcher Cox’s struggles. Here’s what he had to say.

"We always talk about ways to get our best players going a little bit… I would say Fletch is doing a good job right now. Again, people know we play with Fletcher Cox. They do certain things that you typically don’t see on tape… So it’s always a constant ‘Hey, let’s find ways to free up Fletch or get Fletch going’, but I thought he’s playing good… We’re four weeks through (the season). The production will come. I’m not worried about the production from Fletch."

Wait! What? Fletcher Cox, through four games of the 2021-2022 NFL season, has five total tackles. He hasn’t registered a single sack. None of his tackles have been behind the line of scrimmage. He didn’t register a single defensive stat in Week 1 or Week 4. He’s making $16 million this season. Why aren’t we worried?

Okay, let’s get something straight. No one believes that Gannon should bash Fletcher Cox publicly for performing poorly. Those conversations should be had between coaches and players at practice, but this feels different.

This feels like a young coach who knows his unit isn’t performing well, and he, because he needs his team to buy in, can’t afford to lose his unit by upsetting his highest-paid and most-recognizable piece on defense. After all, this is a team captain we’re discussing.

Heck, we’ve seen Cox’s responses to criticism before. It’s not like he’s going to believe what’s being said unless it’s flattering.

So, Jonathan Gannon must now toe the line so to speak. He has to get the best out of his players while remembering that NFL players are, at times, sensitive and prone to reading their own press clippings.

The Eagles’ culture is much different now than it used to be. Certain guys are just untouchable. Think Jason Peters, a franchise legend who played well past his prime (but continued to be paid like he was one of the best at his position). Does that sound familiar?

Ask yourselves this. You know how much Fletcher Cox is making. What if that was someone else making the same coin but performing the way Cox is performing? Would that be permissible? Why then is it allowable for Cox?

Gannon may not be concerned. The rest of us are. This isn’t an issue that began with the game versus the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. This has gone on for a while, and if something doesn’t change quickly, we’re going to be looking at Fletcher Cox the same way we began looking at Jason Peters at the end of his time in Philly. That’s a promise.