Eagles gamble with Fletcher Cox could be playing with fire

When you hear phrases like ‘it’s so quiet, you can hear a pin drop’, it usually follows statements like the following. The Philadelphia Eagles have released Fletcher Cox. Read that out loud, and see how quiet it gets.

Mike Garolo’s report was sudden, and it seemingly came out of nowhere. Then, it was followed by another. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the plan is to bring the six-time Pro Bowler back under a reworked contract.

Check out both tweets below.

There are a couple of things that we obviously need to discuss here. One, what does this mean? And, second, what comes next?

The Eagles legend can listen to offers from other teams, but will he?

Heading into his 11th NFL season, Cox has never tested the waters of free agency before. As you know, he was nearly dealt at the trade deadline last November, but despite the smoke, there was no fire.

He even slammed the door shut on the rumors about his desire to go elsewhere else, stating “I’m happy to be here” and “At the end of the day, I’m still an Eagle, so I’m ready to go play on Sunday”. This is different though.

As Garafolo mentioned, the Eagles hope to continue discussions about a possible return, but knowing that he can listen to other offers, why would he not test the waters to see what his market is? It has to be tempting right?

No one should be shocked if Cox is back in the fold relatively quickly, but if someone swoops in and offers him a deal he can’t refuse, no one would blame him if he broke camp either. We hear stars that are over 30 are getting six-year deals that pay $120 million these days.

Make sure you jot a few notes down on this one. This is uniquely interesting.

The Eagles have a hard time moving on sometimes. Howie Roseman has stated in the past that he struggles with how he manages players that he feels attached to, and even though the plan, apparently, isn’t to move on here, there are voices on both sides of the argument about whether or not Philly should.

There’s a contingent that believes moving on from Fletcher Cox would be a mistake. There’s another that sees him as an aging player who is past his prime and makes too much money. No one would be opposed to his return for a lower price tag though.

As of now, depending on what side of the fence you’re on, you might see this as the Eagles playing with fire (if the Eagles don’t actually want him to leave), but if everything works out, it would be a gamble that paid off, literally. We’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out. It should be worth the watch.