He has become almost a bit of a forgotten man, which is hard to believe considering he is arguably the best player on the entire roster.
As Week 1 approaches, however, the question is when will defensive tackle Fletcher Cox be back front-and-center for this team — and how will he look when he returns?
The Eagles are now just 13 days away from their Sept. 8 opening game against the Washington Redskins, and still, Cox is not taking part in team drills or practicing after having surgery on his foot at the beginning of the offseason.
Speaking Sunday prior to practice, head coach Doug Pederson addressed the status of both linebacker Nigel Bradham and Cox.
"Well, a couple things. Number one, at least be able to get out there and go through the walk-throughs with the defense. Nigel has been able to do that last week and get out there and do some individual work, and Fletcher was doing it for a while, and then now both of those guys -- for me realistically, I want to have everybody week one, and that's the goal," Pederson said. "It's still the goal to have everybody week one. But they're sprinkling in in the walk-throughs this week, and then hopefully we get them all next week."
When pressed, Pederson insisted he was confident he would have Cox to start the season.
"I'm confident that he'll be there," Pederson said. "Listen, everybody is different, but I'm confident, and our goal is to have everybody ready."
Pederson's words did not match his demeanor, however. With only a handful of practices remaining between now and the season opener, the Eagles might have to start facing the harsh reality that they at the very least won't be getting Cox at 100% in Week 1 — or perhaps not until very late into the season.
While no two injuries are the same, and no two players heal exactly the same, the Eagles just dealt with a similar situation last season with defensive end Brandon Graham. They are hoping for a different outcome.
Graham underwent ankle surgery last offseason following his spectacular play in the postseason on the way to the Eagles' Super Bowl victory. The surgery kept him off of his foot for a considerable amount of the offseason and put him behind the eight-ball in training camp. Getting ready for a football season is tough for any player, but doing so for a 250-plus pound linemen is especially tough when you have to be off your feet a large portion of the offseason. Graham started training camp on the PUP and wasn't activated until Aug. 20.
Missing almost the entire offseason of workouts and practices had a serious impact on Graham's season, as the defensive end has spoken at length about how he didn't feel like himself until very late into the 2018 season. The numbers back that up, as Graham finished with just 4.0 sacks, his lowest total since 2013.
Cox had foot, not ankle surgery, but his offseason is shaping up very similar to Graham's last year. Cox missed all of OTAs and minicamp. He is not on the PUP, but it is now Aug. 26 and he has yet to take a single team drill in practice. In fact, he has yet to even be out at most practices recently, a change from his status when training camp got under way.
It goes without saying that the Eagles need a big season out of Cox. The team let go of both Michael Bennett and Chris Long, partially because they expect to stick with Cox and Malik Jackson at defensive tackle on passing downs. One way the team hoped to make up for the loss of Long and Bennett is with strong play from the defensive tackle position, making life easier for both Graham and Derek Barnett on the outside.
If Cox isn't on the field in Week 1, or isn't playing at the elite level the team has been accustomed to, that is going to be an issue for the defense. The Eagles are weaker at defensive end, banged up in the secondary and without both of their starting linebackers. A healthy Cox is good enough to make up for some of those issues if he is playing. Perhaps Cox will return to full strength on the field soon. He is certainly an elite-enough talent that there should be some hope he could.
At this point, however, Week 1 might not be the biggest issue. The larger fear heading into the season for the Eagles should be that arguably their best player is still not practicing — and what that might mean for they will be getting from him in 2019.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
