Eagles release Fletcher Cox: Six-time Pro Bowl DT let go with post-June 1 designation, per report

Cox played 10 seasons for the Eagles, and may still return to Philadelphia

It's a new era in Philadelphia, as the Eagles are cutting ties with a longtime stalwart on their defensive line -- at least for now. 

According to a report from NFL Media, the Eagles will release six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Fletcher Cox with a post-June 1 designation. However, the same report notes that the Eagles and Cox are having discussions about his returning to the team on a different contract. A subsequent report from ESPN said the same.

Cox was set to have $18 million in salary guaranteed at the March 17 deadline, but instead will be able to seek a new contract, whether with the Eagles or another team. 

A former first-round pick of the Eagles in 2012, Cox was named an All-Pro in 2018, made the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team, and helped the Eagles win the only Super Bowl in franchise history. 

He's in the post-prime phase of his career now, but he is still a very good -- and very durable -- player on the interior of the defensive line. Any team looking for a penetrating 4-3 defensive tackle should be interested in his services. 

He totaled only 3.5 sacks last year, but he has recorded at least five in six of his 10 NFL seasons, and he has routinely generated pressure throughout his career. He racked up 41 pressures last season, according to TruMedia, and recorded a sack, hit, or hurry on 9.4% of his pass-rush snaps -- a rate exactly equal to that of the Saints' Cameron Jordan.