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Riley Cooper Leaves Eagles, May Never Return After Racist Comment

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was set to have possibly the best season of his NFL career. With Jeremy Maclin lost for the year due to an ACL tear, the fourth-year wideout who saw 47 targets and had 23 receptions in 2012 had become a favorite to see a larger role in the Philadelphia offense. One regrettable use of a racist slur has changed all of that, and there are now questions about Cooper’s immediate future as an NFL player.

Cooper released the following statement through the Eagles PR department on Friday: “Right now, I think it’s important for me to take some time to reflect on this situation. The organization and my teammates have been extremely supportive, but I also realize that there are people who will have a tough time forgiving me for what I’ve done. The best thing for me, and for the team, is to step away for a period of time.”

No timetable for his return to the team has yet been revealed. Cooper was fined by the Eagles earlier this week for his much-publicized racist comment, and it had been announced that the league would not hand down any additional punishment. Today’s events seem to indicate that Cooper won’t feature for the Eagles in their August 9 preseason game against the New England Patriots, and there are more than a few rumblings around the league that his Philadelphia career is over.

Advice: Cooper was always a fringe fantasy player at best this summer despite Philadelphia’s lack of depth at wide receiver. It now looks like he might not even be on any team come September. Cooper’s NFL career will likely go on someday down the road, but he’s not even worth a look from fantasy owners at this time.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.