February 16, 2022
Now that the Philadelphia Eagles' 2021 season is over, we'll be taking a position-by-position look at which players will likely be back with the team in 2022, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll look at defensive tackle.
In previous offseasons, we've tackled each positional group "in order," as in, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, and then onto the defense. Just as a quick programming note, I'm going to jump around a little more this year, so if you're wondering if you missed the quarterbacks, no, we haven't published that one yet.
On the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls.
Previous stay or go articles:
Jonathan Gannon | Nick Sirianni
Running back | Wide receiver | Defensive end | Center
Offensive tackle | Linebacker | Tight end | Safety
Just before the start of the regular season, the Eagles quietly restructured Cox's contract, giving them some added cap space in 2021 while also opening up some other future options. We'll get to that shortly. In the process, they also made him basically untradeable during the 2021 season.
Prior to that restructure, we suggested that the Eagles should explore Cox trade opportunities, on the premise that:
Before the Eagles restructured Cox's contract, it would have been pretty easy to trade him, financially speaking, as we explained at the time.
Cox carries huge cap hits in each of the next two seasons. He'll count for $23,879,939 in 2021, and $23,779,939 in 2022, the last year of his deal. Additionally, as a result of some previous can-kicking down the road, the Eagles are on the hook for almost $6.5 million on the cap after his contract ends.
The Eagles would take a dead money hit spread out over two years of $21,034,757 if they traded him. But, they would be off the hook on his base salaries of $15,000,000 in 2021 and $16,100,000 in 2022, as well as a $1 million roster bonus in 2022. That $32.1 million would be better spent on players who can help the team whenever they are ready to contend for a Super Bowl again.
They also would have very likely gotten a decent return for Cox, who at the time was still thought of as a top 5-10 interior defensive lineman, even if he wasn't the elite player he once was. In July, we suggested a valuation of a late second-round pick, a cost that might seem silly now but was not met with much disagreement at the time.
Through the first half or so of the regular season, Cox looked disinterested on the field, and openly griped about his usage off of it.
He became the subject of trade rumors at the deadline, as Howie Roseman acknowledged during his after-season press conference.
"I think, first of all, it's our job to listen to everything and see if there are ways to improve our team," Roseman said. "Obviously, Fletcher is a great player, and teams where we were at the deadline were making calls. And for us, it's important. Our priorities are always going to be along the line of scrimmage, and obviously having him and Hargrave, and you see the growth from Milton inside, that's a huge part of our defense and a huge part of our priorities...
"We communicate with our players. They know when things are going on, we'll be honest. We have honest communication. Fletch knew what was going on. We communicated with him. He's a guy that was a big part of the success that we had down the stretch. He can continue to take over games and be an incredible player, and we expect more of that going forward."
As the season progressed and the Eagles started winning more games, Cox played harder and was more disruptive on the interior of the Eagles' defensive line, as Roseman noted.
Still, while Roseman mostly made good moves overall in 2021, Cox's restructure was his one major misstep. Because of the complexity of the restructure (it was actually more like two restructures — in 2021 and proactively in 2022), it took the great Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com 25 minutes to try to explain it below.
The short-short version of that video is that whether the Eagles cut, trade, or keep Cox in 2022, they found creative ways of dumping Cox's cap charges into the 2023 season, when the cap is expected to rise substantially. But all options are on the table.
#JimmyVerdict: Cox has been an incredible player for the Eagles over the last decade, but if a decent enough trade offer came along (saaaayyy, an early Day 3 pick or better), the Eagles should strongly consider moving him. Ultimately, however, my belief is that the Eagles are going to view the NFC as being wide open, and won't be interested in selling off players they think can still produce. Stay.
Eagles stay or go: Fletcher Cox
After having a disappointing first season in Philly that was slowed by injuries, Hargrave was a stud in 2021, as he collected 63 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 18 QB hits while earning his first career Pro Bowl nod.
#JimmyVerdict: Stay, duh.
Eagles stay or go: Javon Hargrave
Williams played a mix of DT and the Brandon Graham role in the Eagles' defense during training camp and the preseason, but after Graham went down Week 2, Jonathan Gannon played ill-fitting guys like Ryan Kerrigan and Josh Sweat in that spot instead of Williams, who instead mostly played at DT. It would have been nice to see him get more snaps in that role, but 🤷♂️.
Williams finished his rookie season with 30 tackles (6 for loss), 2 sacks, 6 QB hits, and 2 batted passes. He flashed down the stretch and gave the Eagles reason for optimism in his play in 2022 and beyond.
#JimmyVerdict: If Cox is dealt this offseason, Williams will almost certainly start in 2022. If not, he'll still get plenty of snaps in the Eagles' defense. Stay, duh.
Eagles stay or go: Milton Williams
After the Eagles spent a sixth-round pick on Tuipulotu, he had a quiet training camp and a rough preseason. During the 2021 regular season, he played in 5 games and made 5 tackles.
#JimmyVerdict: The Eagles are patient with players they draft, sometimes to a fault. While not a lock to make the roster in 2022, Tuipulotu will still get every opportunity to make the team, so we'll guess that he'll stay.
Eagles stay or go: Marlon Tuipulotu
Ridgeway has become something of the "Dickrod of the Defense," in that he seems to keep finding his way back onto the Eagles' roster.
#JimmyVerdict: The Eagles won't be in any rush to bring Ridgeway back early on this offseason, but if they don't address the position in free agency or the draft, they could bring him back closer to training camp. For now, we'll call it a go.
Eagles stay or go: Hassan Ridgeway
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