Roseman: ‘Fletcher Cox Is Always A Priority’

Howie Roseman. (Jeff Fusco)

While the Eagles have signed four players in the last two weeks to new contracts, Fletcher Cox has posted multiple tweets that seemingly suggest he’s waiting for his turn.

When talking to the media after Vinny Curry’s press conference, however, Howie Roseman denied that the Eagles have been slow to engage Cox in contract negotiations.

“I would say the last person we’re trying to play games with or be disrespectful to is Fletcher Cox,” Roseman said. “Fletcher Cox is always a priority to us.”

Roseman also declined to specify why Cox hasn’t been signed to a new deal yet.

“He’s a tremendous player, a tremendous person,” Roseman said. “But at the same time, sometimes these things don’t happen as quickly as you’d like. Without getting into specifics, because we want to be respectful of him, but obviously we want Fletcher Cox here. We want him here for an extremely long time. We want him to not only start his career, but finish his career as an Eagle.”

Roseman met with the media just one day after reports surfaced that the Eagles suspended their search for a new personnel executive. He explained that the team wants the opportunity to look at more options.

“We met with a bunch of really good candidates,” Roseman said. “The way that Jeffrey [Lurie] said it at the press conference was that we wanted to make sure that we did a comprehensive search. Just by the nature of this time of year, teams aren’t going to necessarily be so aligned with that. We’re looking at this as a long-term decision for us, not just a five-month decision. So the candidates we looked at were good, but we also want to make sure that we’re looking at all of the good candidates that are available to us.”

Another notable Eagle without a new deal is Sam Bradford, who will be a free agent next month. Roseman declined to comment on whether the Eagles have decided whether they want the quarterback back, before adding, “Everything is positive with Sam.”

Roseman noted that the team does have flexibility with their cap space to sign additional players, and he addressed reports about Tom Donahoe’s role in the organization. He said that, contrary to reports, Donahoe attended both the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowl games.

Roseman also explained the new philosophy of the Eagles’ personnel department with Chip Kelly gone.

“Hopefully that’s what we’re doing here is trying to build some continuity and do something where we can keep people together for the long term. And invest in our own,” Roseman said. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities in free agency, or in the trade market for us to go and make some moves, but the most important thing when you look at the teams still playing is invest in your own players. Show them that if they do the right things on and off the field, that they have the opportunity to be here for the long term.”