Former Eagles confide in Fletcher Cox, reveal leaving Philly was "One of worst decisions they ever made"

Fletcher Cox tells NBC Broadcast team former players regret leaving Eagles for more money. We're glad he decided to stay.
Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles
Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles / Cooper Neill/GettyImages
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In The Great Gatsby movie, our protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is an affluent man who throws lavish parties and projects a lifestyle of elegance to show how amazing his life is. In actuality, he was miserable, suffering from an emptiness unfulfilled by material items. This is the conundrum Philadelphia Eagles veteran Fletcher Cox could have found himself in if he had made a different decision regarding his free agency.

The Eagles have built a culture desirable to many athletes, and the city of Philadelphia is one of the best sports towns in the country. The fans are passionate and intelligent. They hold their players accountable, but some athletes don't want that.

It's often those athletes crumble under the pressure. They often have an expectation of entitlement and believe fans should cheer them no matter what. This isn't a reality in Philly, nor should it be.

Philly's sports icons have figured it out. If you give the City of Brotherly Love everything you have, the fans will love you forever, but if they gather there's a lack of effort or indifference, they are going to let you hear about it. It's not a city for the weak. Its citizens are completely unapologetic in how they express their style of fandom. Love it or hate it. That's never going to change.

Fletcher Cox is exactly where he needs to be and he will be an important part of the Philadelphia Eagles 2023 NFL Season.

Football is finally back. After waiting for what seemed like the same amount of time we waited for Winter to arrive in Game of Thrones, we're all hoping for a much more rewarding ending to the coming NFL season than we received from the HBO series' finale.

Fletcher Cox's bloodstream carries midnight green hues. He's an Eagle through and through, one that wants to be part of Philly's culture. This past offseason, during the free-agency frenzy, he turned down offers for more money from other teams to remain with the only franchise he has ever played for.

The Mississippi State product may have considered leaving Philly at some point. Maybe it was the conversations he had with former Eagles that convinced him to stay. During NBC's broadcast of the recent Eagles versus Baltimore Ravens preseason game, a feature aired, one that contained a quote from our guy Cox. It appears that, when he speaks with former Eagles, they aren't happy about their decisions to leave the organization. Apparently, they believe leaving Philly was "one of the worst decisions they ever made".

Fletcher Cox has been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles since he was drafted in 2012. It is safe to say fans prefer not to see the fifth-leading sack-getter in franchise history in another team's uniform. It is a win-win for all parties.

Signing a one-year, $10 million-dollar deal leaves him out of the top 20 salaries for defensive tackles and that's okay. Everyone knows that the grass is not always greener on the other side. So, though those other teams offered Cox more money, a decision to leave could have left him feeling like Jay Gatsby: empty.

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