After defensive tackle Fletcher Cox missed the first round of Eagles Organized Team Activities last week, there was a report that he was spending time with his family and would be back with the team this week.
That’s how things played out on Tuesday. According to multiple reports from the team’s practice, Cox is on the field and working with his teammates as the final phase of the offseason program continues.
These practices are voluntary, so Cox was not required to be in attendance. Coach Doug Pederson said last week that Cox is someone “you do expect to be here,” but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz focused on the voluntary nature of the workouts when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday.
“Anything that a coach says; whether it’s praising a guy for being here, being critical of a guy not being here, it sort of takes away from the voluntary nature of it,” Schwartz said, via NJ.com. “We’ve worked through things like that before. Players have missed for a various amount of reasons. We’re excited about coaching the guys that are here. It’s all about individual development, without the pressures of a game coming up. Our focus is on the guys that are here, not on the guys that might be missing for any reason.”
The Eagles have several players missing Tuesday, including an under-the-weather defensive end Vinny Curry, but no absences are likely to raise too many eyebrows unless they extend through the mandatory minicamp in June.