Eagles DT Fletcher Cox, six-time Professional Bowler, retiring from NFL

Six-time Professional Bowl Philadelphia Eagles defensive deal with Fletcher Cox introduced Sunday that he’s retiring from the NFL.

He follows within the footsteps of longtime Eagles heart Jason Kelce, who introduced his retirement earlier this week.

“I fulfilled a lifelong dream by making it to the NFL. However what I did not know on the time was how a lot of an honor and privilege it could be to symbolize town of Philadelphia and the Eagles group for the subsequent 12 seasons,” Cox wrote in a press release posted to Instagram on Sunday.

In his assertion, he thanked Eagles proprietor Jeffrey Lurie, basic supervisor Howie Roseman, present coach Nick Sirianni and former coach Doug Pederson and workforce president Don Smolenski, a number of teammates, together with Brandon Graham, Kelce and Lane Johnson, and the workforce’s followers.

“I gave all the pieces I needed to this workforce and to this metropolis. I do not know what’s subsequent for me, however I do know that I am perpetually grateful for my time right here in Philadelphia and with the Eagles group,” he wrote.

Cox, 33, remained one of many Eagles’ prime performers in 2023, recording 5 sacks, 17 quarterback hits and 36 quarterback pressures in 15 video games.

Cox is among the most completed defensive gamers in Eagles historical past. He holds the franchise document for sacks (70) and Professional Bowl appearances (6) by a defensive deal with and trails solely Reggie White, Trent Cole, Clyde Simmons and Graham in profession sacks.

“What made Fletcher actually particular is that his affect extends even additional behind the scenes. The six-time workforce captain was a key determine in establishing a championship tradition in our constructing. As nasty as he was on the sphere, he was a grasp of his craft whereas additionally serving as an enormous brother and mentor to so many younger gamers through the years,” Lurie stated in a press release. “He had an amazing quantity of respect for the sport of soccer and the legacy he would at some point be forsaking, and that was mirrored in the best way he set the usual each single day whether or not on the follow discipline or within the locker room. That commonplace will dwell on for a few years because of his management and the respect he earned from everybody within the constructing.

“We’re extremely grateful for all the pieces he gave to our group and to the Metropolis of Philadelphia through the years, and we want him all the most effective as he embarks on the longer term.”

The twelfth general decide within the 2012 draft out of Mississippi State, Cox has performed his total profession in Philadelphia. He has appeared in 188 profession regular-season video games, the second most by an Eagles defensive participant behind Graham (195).

He helped information the Eagles to their solely Tremendous Bowl championship throughout the 2017 marketing campaign and adopted that up together with his finest season as a professional, racking up 10.5 sacks and 34 quarterback hits in 2018 en path to first-team All-Professional honors.

ESPN’s Tim McManus contributed to this report.