Eagles Exercise Option for Fletcher Cox

Report From Philadelphia Eagles

The standard mark of success for a first-round pick is whether the player’s team picks up his fifth-year option. Clearly, the Eagles chose well in 2012, when they traded up for the opportunity to select Mississippi State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox with the 12th overall pick. As such, the team officially exercised Cox’s fifth-year option, the team announced Monday.

The 24-year-old Cox had somewhat of a breakout season in 2014, earning second-team All-Pro honors after a year in which he notched 4.0 sacks and 70 total tackles. Those numbers belie Cox’s true impact on the Eagles, though, as his responsibilities in the team’s two-gap defense often call for him to create room for those around him to make plays.

Over his first three seasons, Cox has totaled 201 tackles and 12.5 sacks, along with one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries.

Now signed through the 2016 season, Cox is set to return to one of the best three-man defensive lines in the NFL, joining the likes of Bennie Logan, Cedric Thornton and Vinny Curry, among others.