Riley Cooper to have ‘significant demand’
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper (14) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the second quarter during the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Eagles have two solid wide receiver set to hit free agency this offseason in Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, and the team could conceivably keep both guys around. However, it’s more likely that one of them slips through the cracks and enters free agency, and both wideouts would garner significant interest on the market. Although Maclin is coming off of an ACL tear, he has plenty of talent and has a few seasons of solid production under his belt. Meanwhile, Cooper has the advantage of coming into free agency healthy, and the big 26-year-old did an excellent job of racking up touchdowns, going vertical, and hooking up with rising quarterback Nick Foles last year.
A league source tells Pro Football Talk that Cooper would be in “significant demand” if he hits free agency this offseason, and that’s not actually surprising news. During the regular season, it was reported that Cooper could be a hot name on the free agent market, and it looks like that could materialize for the Florida product who notched 835 receiving yards and eight TDs in Chip Kelly’s aggressive, vertical attack.
I’m sure the Eagles would love to keep Cooper- who is a willing and able blocker, has great chemistry with their franchise QB, has great size, is a red zone threat, and stretches the field deep with an average of 17.8 yards per reception- but they also have to worry about upgrades at safety, keeping Maclin, and Florio notes that the money they have tied in DeSean Jackson could be deterrent to paying Cooper as much as other teams could be willing to pay him.