The Philadelphia Eagles may be, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler put it, “replacing two legends at once” this offseason.
Fowler red Sunday that multiple sources believe defensive tackle Fletcher Cox will retire this offseason. He could join center Jason Kelce in such a decision, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in January the veteran will retire this offseason.
Even with Schefter’s report, neither Eagles player has officially retired to this point.
General manager Howie Roseman told reporters in February the team would be patient and allow Kelce and Cox the necessary time to make such decisions. Roseman also said he doesn’t want either to play for a different team at any point.
Both Kelce and Cox have played their entire careers in Philadelphia with the former entering the league as a 2011 sixth-round draft pick and the latter joining the Eagles as a 2012 first-round pick.
Kelce is the gold standard for the center position in the current game with a Super Bowl title, six First-Team All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl nods. Cox was also on that Eagles team that took home the Lombardi Trophy during the 2017 campaign and is a six-time Pro Bowler.
Reggie White, Trent Cole, Clyde Simmons and Brandon Graham are the only Eagles with more than Cox’s 70 career sacks in franchise history, and the veteran was still solid in 2023 with 33 tackles, five sacks, two passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
If he does call it quits this offseason, he will be remembered as a franchise icon.
