Riley Cooper’s controversial career in Philadelphia concluded on Monday when the Eagles released the polarizing wide receiver after six seasons with the team.
Cooper, 28, would have counted $5.3 million against the salary cap in 2016. There is $2.4 million in dead money, so the team saved $2.9 million against the cap by releasing Cooper.
The hefty salary meant the release was not a surprise, but the Eagles wasted no time. They made the move on the first day of the waiver period with the roster freeze lifted.
Cooper finished with 169 catches for 2,418 yards and 18 touchdowns.
A 2010 fifth-round draft choice, Cooper was a full-time starter during his final three seasons with the team. His relative lack of production in 2014 and 2015 often made him the source of fans’ ire, and his image also was stained when a video surfaced in July 2013 showing him shouting a racial slur at a security guard during a concert at Lincoln Financial Field.
Former Eagles coach Chip Kelly kept Cooper that season and inserted him into the starting lineup after Jeremy Maclin suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp. Cooper responded with the best season of his career, catching 47 passes for 835 yards and eight touchdowns. His average of 17.8 yards per catch was tied for third in the NFL.
As a valued part of Kelly’s offense, the Eagles did not let Cooper hit free agency. He signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract in February 2014 and became an undisputed starter once DeSean Jackson was released weeks later.
But Cooper never matched his 2013 output during the last two seasons. He had a career-high 55 catches in 2014, but he had a career-low 10.5 yards-per-catch average and found the end zone only three times. Cooper’s 21 catches in 2015 were his fewest since his second year in the league.
The coaches often defended Cooper by pointing to his contributions as a blocker. Although it was true that Cooper helped the running game by blocking on the perimeter, his receiving production did not seem to befit his playing time.
Before Kelly arrived in Philadelphia, Cooper was a depth wide receiver and a core special teams player under head coach Andy Reid and Doug Pederson, then the quarterbacks coach. He remained behind Maclin, Jackson and Jason Avant, and his production was in line with his playing time. The big spike came under Kelly, but Cooper said in December that his emergence had less to do with Kelly and more to do with the opportunity.
“Chip happened to be the coach after Andy [Reid] got fired and Maclin got hurt, and so I had to play in my fourth year. There was no choice,” Cooper said. “There was no other receivers. We had very few. I just went out there and played the game. And I appreciate Chip letting me go out there and showcase what I can do and what I can still do.”
Kelly was always loyal to Cooper, and his decision to stick by him was often cited when questions about race arose. Kelly said last August that he did not regret standing by Cooper.
“I think Riley made a mistake, and I think that’s part of it. We all backed him. Michael [Vick] backed him. Jason Avant backed him,” Kelly said. “I think that’s part of being in an organization and on a team. I look at that as a specific incident, and he was 100 percent wrong. Those are things that should never be said, and I hope he learned his lesson. I think he regrets what he did that day every single day. I see that. But do I regret what I did in terms of how we handled Riley? No, we don’t.”
Cooper moved on mostly without issues, and his dismissal on Monday had more to do with money and production than anything else. It also left the Eagles without one of their longest-tenured players and could signal more changes at wide receiver.
With Seyi Ajirotutu a pending free agent, the Eagles have five wide receivers under contract: Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff, Jonathan Krause, and Freddy Martino. Matthews is the only one in that group with more than 30 catches in a season. Agholor, a 2015 first-round pick, is considered an ascending player, but the Eagles could add more depth at the position.
After releasing Cooper, the Eagles have more money to offer and more playing time to distribute.
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