Eagles DT Fletcher Cox announces retirement from the NFL

Cox, who will go down as one of the Eagles' greatest defensive players ever, officially called it a career on Sunday after 12 seasons.

Eagles DT Fletcher Cox has called it a career.
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox announced on Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL, via his social media accounts. You can read his announcement by clicking on his tweet here:

Cox was a first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and he played for 12 years. He appeared in 200 career games (188 in the regular season, 12 in the playoffs). Over his career, Cox amassed 70 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 88 tackles for loss, and 173 QB hits.

He was named First-Team All-Pro once (2018), Second-Team All-Pro three times (2014, 2015, 2017), and he made six Pro Bowls, consecutively, from 2015 to 2020. He was also probably the best defensive player on the first Eagles team to ever win a Super Bowl. 

In his prime, Cox was a top 3 NFL defensive tackle who gave opposing interior offensive linemen fits both against the run and the pass. He also impressively played at a high level for four different Eagles coaching regimes, and thus four different schemes. He is an Eagles all-time great.

With Cox moving on, the Eagles will need their stable of highly drafted interior defensive linemen — Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, and others — to step up on the field and fill Cox's shoes.


Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice

Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports

Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader