Eagles' Fletcher Cox grabbed a shotgun to thwart break-in

PHILADELPHIA -- A burglary attempt at the New Jersey residence of Fletcher Cox prompted the Eagles defensive tackle to grab a shotgun, causing the suspect to flee, according to a complaint filed to Harrison Township Municipal Court.

The suspect was the ex-boyfriend of a woman staying at Cox's residence, according to the complaint filed last Wednesday.

The suspect is said to have damaged a vehicle on the property by throwing rocks through the front and rear windows, and he then attempted to gain entrance to the residence by throwing large rocks through the front doors.

He was allegedly observed on surveillance cameras walking around the exterior of the residence with a baseball bat and attempting to enter through the garage multiple times.

Cox grabbed a shotgun, prompting the suspect to flee the area in a black Porsche before eventually being apprehended.

"The police are handling it," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. "It's a personal issue, so I'm out of it."

Cox missed practice with an illness on the same date as the alleged incident. Pederson said his absence was "unrelated to that."

The suspect is said to have caused over $2,000 in damages to Cox's residence.

"We do our best to protect our players here on premise, but obviously they have personal lives and we all have personal lives and things are going to come up. And so we do the best we can to educate our players and try to protect them the best we can," Pederson said.