Philadelphia Eagles: Fletcher Cox setting a bad example
By Jeremy Klump
The Philadelphia Eagles paid Fletcher Cox $102.6 million last offseason, but now he is setting a bad example by skipping voluntary OTAs.
After an impressive offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles got back to work for the 2017 NFL season on Tuesday. Well, just the Eagles that voluntarily showed up. After all, the organized team activates (OTAs) are not mandatory. However, just because they are voluntary, it usually means you should show up to be with and work with your team.
One player, in particular, decided not to come to the OTAs and reportedly “spend time with his family” (via Zach Berman of Philly.com). That player was defense lineman, Fletcher Cox. Now, many people will argue that it does not matter because they are not mandatory. I would debate that should not matter. Cox signed a fat deal last offseason, worth up to $102.6 million. For him to not be back to work just because he doesn’t need to be is a bad sign for the Eagles.
If Cox had some personal issues to deal with, that is entirely different. There would be no discussion, and we would move on with our days. However, he decided to wait for the entire offseason to “spend time with his family” when he should be at the Eagles facilities setting a good example. You would hope that when you pay someone that much money, they want to go above and beyond their expectations, not the bare minimum.
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Getting a big contract like that isn’t just about you getting paid. It is a team investing in you as well, and it seems Cox is only thinking about himself. It may be the offseason, and this is the only news we have to talk about, although, I feel the example Cox is setting could hurt the Eagles in the long run.
They just selected defense end Derek Barnett in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Barnett is obviously at OTAs for his first NFL season, but he is seeing that the best and highest paid player on the Eagles defense isn’t there because he doesn’t have to be.
Cox should be showing the young gun that, even with $102.6 million contract, no one is bigger than the team and he should steal as many reps as he can. In the NFL, they are only allowed a certain amount of workouts together as a team in the offseason and right now Cox is wasting and missing them.
Head coach Doug Pederson had this to say about Cox missing (via Zach Berman of Phily.com):
"“The reason is satisfactory. Again, it’s a voluntary program. I would love for everybody to be here. That’s just me, personally. I would love everybody to be here. I know it’s not always going to work out that way. But, you know, Fletcher’s one of the leaders on the football team. Guys like that, you do expect to be here. I get the rules. We abide by the rules. He’s one of the guys, too, that at the end of the day, I’m going to hang my hat on and go to war with.”"
Pederson’s comments are interesting when you dissect what he said. He says, “The reason is satisfactory,” but he added later, “I get the rules.” The rules meaning, as much as they want a player to be here, they can’t make him come because it isn’t mandatory.
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If Cox wanted to spend time with his family, he should have made sure it was before it would interfere with OTAs. Instead, Cox is relaxing while his teammates are getting better — without him. It may not be a big deal, and we will probably forget about this by the start of the season. However, Cox is setting a bad example for his teammates by not being at the voluntary OTAs.