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Fletcher Cox Signs Big Extension, Broncos Cough Blood

Cox has $103 million reasons to smile.

Somewhere Denver Broncos general manager John Elway is kicking dents in every trash can he can find. That’s because the Philadelphia Eagles just announced they’d signed defensive tackle Fletcher Cox to a six-year, $103 million contract with a whopping $63 million in guaranteed money.

If you’ll recall, my thoughts were the lack of guaranteed money was the only real issue keeping Von Miller from signing his extension with the Broncos. They offered around$39 million in guarantees. Miller is worth significantly more than that and Cox’s deal only adds evidence to that.

Cox, who just turned 25, had the best season of his young career in 2015 and the Eagles obviously think the best is ahead. He recorded 71 tackles, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two passes defended. He’s never had double-digit sacks yet in a season and just a year before, amassed only four.

Miller, on the other hand, has only one season where he didn’t record double-digit sacks and it was in 2013, where he was knocked out for the season with a knee injury and only played in nine games. He still had five sacks and I’m not math expert, but I think adding five more over seven games was entirely possible for a guy that has averaged 13.75 sacks in his four healthy seasons.

And, you know, he had five sacks in the Super Bowl and was the MVP.

Back to Cox, his guaranteed money is the largest ever given to any player other than a quarterback. It’s the second richest defensive tackle contract, paying him $17.13 million a year, right behind the Miami Dolphins Ndamukong Suh.

Now, you could argue that Cox is a defensive tackle and Miller is an outside linebacker, but Miller’s agent won’t. Both these guys are paid to wreak havoc behind the line of scrimmage and no one in the NFL is better at it right now than Miller.

Ravens Perriman still doesn’t know how bad he’s hurt

After meeting with Dr. James Andrews Monday, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Breshad Perriman will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to see how badly he tore his ACL in last Friday’s practice.

The good news for the Ravens and Perriman is that the initial assessment of Andrews is that Perriman’s injury may not require reconstructive surgery. Tuesday everyone will know if any surgery at all is on the table.

Perriman injured his knee twice last season and has yet to play a game for the Ravens. He was a first-round pick, No. 26, out of the University of Central Florida.

Lions make moves at wide receiver

The Detroit Lions didn’t add a single receiver in the draft, but continue to work free agency in an effort to replace the irreplaceable Calvin Johnson. Monday they signed former Washington Redskins wideout Andre Roberts and had former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin in for a visit.

Roberts was a solid No. 3 for in the NFL since he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals back in 2010. He signed with the Redskins back in 2014 and put up his usual numbers, 36 catches, 453 yards and two touchdowns. Injuries limited him to just nine games with Washington last year and they cut him a couple of weeks ago.

Roberts will join an entirely new Lions receiving corps, with Golden Tate the only returning starter. The Lions added Marvin Jones from the Cincinnati Bengals, Andre Caldwell from the Denver Broncos and Jeremy Kerley from the New York Jets already this offseason. No other receiver the Lions have on the roster caught more than 152 yards of passes last season.

They also added three guys as undrafted free agents, Jace Billingsley from Eastern Oregon, Quinshad Davis from North Carolina and Jay Lee from Baylor.

The strength of the Lions’ passing attack will be at tight end. Third year man Eric Ebron had a breakout season in 2015, catching 47 passes for 537 yards and five touchdowns. The Lions should also get back a healthy Brandon Pettigrew, who was a former first-round pick himself. If they keep three tight ends, Timothy Wright appeared in nine games last season and caught a couple of touchdowns.

The Lions also added a free agent safety in Keith Lewis.

Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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