Anyone who saw the movie Rounders should remember the famous line John Malkovich delivered in a nasally, awkward Russian accent – “Pay that man his money.” That’s the way I feel about the Eagles and Fletcher Cox…pay that man his money.

There is some thought that you don’t pay 3-4 DEs big money. Their job is mostly to 2-gap. Find an athletic DT and move him to DE, ala Cedric Thornton. You can get several years of good play for minimal money. Go spend big money on LBs since they are the true life blood of the 3-4.

That makes sense in a general way, but there are some players you make exceptions for. The Steelers just gave 3-4 DE Cam Heyward a 5-year deal worth $59.25M. The Pats gave big money to Richard Seymour when he was a star for them. JJ Watt deserves every penny that he gets paid.

I think Cox is a man you pay. He is the Eagles best defensive player. Cox makes the guys around him better because of his ability to eat up blockers and make plays. He can push the pocket and create sack opportunities for the OLBs. He can disrupt run plays with penetration and create easy tackle situations for other defenders. Chip Kelly has referred to him as the team’s defensive MVP in the past.

Losing Cox wouldn’t be the same as letting Mychal Kendricks go or losing Thornton. Those guys are good starters, but they aren’t the kind of talents you build a defense around.

Cox is signed through the end of 2016, but it seems like this is the time you’d want to go to him and talk about an extension. Maybe the Eagles want one more year off the rookie deal.

I sure hope the thought process isn’t that “We’ll get 5 good years out of him and then let him go get paid elsewhere.” Finding 3-4 DL who can make plays and 2-gap is hard. You don’t want to overpay someone who is just a good run defender. That’s why Thornton might not get the deal he wants from the Eagles. He is good, but that skill is replaceable.

If you put Cox and Thornton on the market, Thornton would get some phone calls. There are plenty of teams who could use his skills. Cox would talk to 31 teams. Everyone would have some interest in adding an impact defender.

Cox may never have heard of Cam Heyward before today, but you can sure bet he knows him now. 3-4 DEs getting paid is a good sign for Cox. Other than Watt, Cox just might be the best 3-4 DE in the league.

The sky is the limit for him, both on the field and financially.

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Some perspective on the deal from Mike Florio (who is great with contracts).

A source told PFT’s Mike Florio that Heyward’s deal is a five-year extension worth $59.25 million. The new money average of $10.45 million a year is higher than Corey Liuget of the San Diego Chargers and falls just behind Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints.

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