The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon. Thus far, the Arizona Cardinals have made one splashy move, acquiring tight end Zach Ertz from the Philadelphia Eagles. There is another trade the Cardinals could make and it involves the Eagles.
According to Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, it is a trade that should happen but is unlikely to.
He proposes the Cardinals send their 2022 second-round draft pick to the Eagles for defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, which would bolster the defensive interior after the injury to J.J. Watt.
The Cardinals will need reinforcements both in the interior run defense and the interior pass rush without Watt, and Philadelphia’s Fletcher Cox has not been happy of late. The veteran has expressed his displeasure about where he’s deployed from snap to snap, and how he’s asked to cover screens when he’d rather be rushing the passer. First-year defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has said that he gets Cox’s points, but this has also blown up into the idea that other teams are trying to trade for Cox.
Cox is in the middle of the 6 year, $102.6-million extension he signed in 2016 — he’s under contract through the 2023 season, with void years in 2024 through 2026. He has a full cap charge of $12,916,409, and the Cardinals could probably handle the prorated version of that with a little movement. Cox isn’t the player he once was, but he’d help keep the Cardinals on their potential Super Bowl track. As for the Eagles, it’s not as if they’re a playoff team anyway, and the Cox trade could offload some financial responsibility, and add to their considerable 2022 draft haul.
The Eagles probably aren’t motivated to move Cox. Despite being nearly 31 years old, he can still make an impact. He only has once sack this season but that could be related to his role in Philly’s defense.
He had 6.5 sacks in 2020.
Cox would make the loss of Watt not as noticeable and, if somehow Watt is able to come back, would give the Cardinals a ridiculous pairing of Watt and Cox inside with Chandler Jones and Markus Golden outside.
Will the Cardinals be willing to part with another pick in this year’s draft?
They could manage the salary. But ultimately this will be more about the Eagles.
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