Of the four players on the Eagles roster who didn’t attend the team’s voluntary (key word there) organized team activities (OTAs), Fletcher Cox’s absence became actual news in the news-starved Philadelphia sports market.
My quick take: Yeah, it would be better if Big Fletch was at OTAs with the rest of his teammates, especially considering that he needs to be a leader of the Eagles defense. Will it probably matter in the long run, though? Doubtful.
The first thing that comes to mind is the money, and yeah, Cox makes $17 million per year after signing a six-year, $103 million contract extension last offseason. That’s a lot of dough by NFL standards, even if Cox assuredly won’t actually receive that much from the Eagles.
But the Inquirer’s Bob Ford makes the point, rather forcefully, that there are serious long-term drawbacks to playing defensive line in the NFL. And considering Eagles OTAs are voluntary, he believes that Cox’s absence shouldn’t have been a story:
The point is that Fletcher Cox has the right to be in the Caribbean, if that is his choice. He has the right to post pictures of the sun high over the blue water and a rum drink in his hand, if that moves him. He has the right to be anywhere on earth aside from the fields of the NovaCare Complex, if that makes him happy.
The game of football has given Cox that ability to be happy when the time is his. Like it or not, that time includes this week. Eventually, the experience of playing football makes many of them unhappy, long after no one remembers which uniform they wore or how many May walk-throughs they attended.
And over at Sports Illustrated, Chris Burke writes that star absences can actually give some younger players a chance to impress the Eagles coaching staff:
The absences of surefire starters (again, a group from which Smith is excluded) can work in a team’s favor this early in the process, too. Like Reid said, the players that do show up are itching for reps. When someone like Beckham isn’t available for the Giants, that simply means more looks for Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis and the rest of Beckham’s teammates trying to carve out a role.
So, pay attention to which players are missing from OTAs ... and why they’re missing, and how their coaches react to their skip days. But for the large majority of those sitting out right now, all will be well provided they show up for mandatory mini-camp in June and training camp in July.
And for the most part, I agree with both takes. Cox will be ready to go when the Eagles schedule rolls around, and hopefully he’ll be dominant. But considering his status, this wasn’t necessarily the best news that the Eagles should have dealt with this week.
In case you missed it at PhillyVoice
1. Counterclockwise: At Tennessee, Eagles first-round draft pick Derek Barnett broke Reggie White’s sack record with the equivalent of one pitch, a devastating outside rush move that could rival Mariano Rivera’s cutter. Now, getting ready for NFL tackles, he’s hard at work on a counter.
2. See ya, Marcus: Even Doug Pederson didn’t seem to know Marcus Smith would be skipping Eagles OTAs. Bold strategy there, Cotton:
3. Eagles Chat: “Uncle Jimmy” has hard-hitting Eagles #takes about Nelson Agholor, Shelton Gibson, and most importantly, Howie Roseman’s whip for an arm.
4. Power Rankings: The Eagles are rated last in the NFC East in pretty much every one of these rankings. In this division, preseason expectations aren’t really that big of a deal.
Other Eagles news, notes and analysis from around the web
The CB Mystery: Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Lawlor writes about the weakest position on the Eagles depth chart:
In an ideal world. the Eagles would probably love Douglas and Mills to start on the outside, with Robinson taking over in the slot, a place where he has played well in the past. Ron Brooks was effective there last year, but Robinson is a better CB than him so you would think the team would prefer Robinson to win that job.
Eagles Spotlight: Malcolm Jenkins picks off Eli Manning for six: Jonny Page, Bleeding Green Nation
Page highlights a patented Eli Manning pick-six:
This is a terrible play by Manning, but it's also a great play by Jenkins and an even better play by Jordan Hicks. Hicks is the key to this play, if Hicks doesn't spot Shepard coming across the middle of the field quick enough or isn't able to cover him, then this is an easy throw and catch to Shepard. This play highlights why Hicks, Graham, Cox and Jenkins are so critical to this defense which is why I thought it was a great play to breakdown.
Pardon My Take with Jim Harbaugh: Barstool Sports
Big Cat and PMT had a hard-hitting discussion with a big-time football guy in Jim Harbaugh, who surprisingly took the blame for his infamous post-game handshake with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz (via ESPN):
"I went in too hard on that, too aggressive on the handshake. We've talked, and we're good. We're back to friends... There is a protocol in a postgame handshake. I've been there as the winner. I've been there as loser. You just, 'Nice game,' then go celebrate. Premature celebration there, in the wrong."
Which team got measurably worse this offseason? ESPN Insiders
This one isn’t specifically about the Eagles, but four of six Insiders picked Washington as the team that took the biggest step back in the offseason.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
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