The Pittsburgh Steelers need defensive linemen. The Philadelphia Eagles have some good ones, including former Steeler Javon Hargrave. But they also have 6 time Pro Bowler Fletcher Cox. Reports at the trade deadline last season were that Cox was available, but no one wanted to give up a third round pick in exchange.
Now it appears the Eagles are fielding calls for the veteran again, and the Steelers are again involved.
#Eagles receiving lots of interest for 6x Pro Bowl DT Fletcher Cox. League sources say #Bills, #Steelers and #Chargers all interested (#Cardinals aren’t due to lack of money).
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 12, 2022
Trading Cox would mean a $40M dead cap charge for Philly, so the return would have to be substantial.
Cox wound up starting 16 games last season and finished the year with 35 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He added three tackles in the Eagles’ playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Recently the Steelers brass said that Stephon Tuitt had shown interest in returning to football, but there's been no indication of when they will happen. It still might not happen.
Landing a player of Cox's caliber might be more costly at this point of the year than it was at the trade deadline. It's reported that Cox would cost the Eagles $40 million in dead cap space if they unload him now.
The Steelers don't have a lot of draft picks available to trade this season, but they could deal one of their future picks in 2023.
