PHILADELPHIA—After the first of his three deep-ball catches late in the 11-on-11 drills between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, Riley Cooper was greeted in the end zone by a leaping chest-bump from teammate Jason Avant.
After the third catch, Cooper was applauded by the fans at the Eagles’ facility. One shouted, "Way to go, Coop!"
MORE:
Cooper’s return from a leave of absence Tuesday was unexpected, but it was welcomed—and the words of those teammates and the head coach seemed to confirm it, even as the brief length of his absence raised eyebrows.
"It doesn’t matter what the people on the outside think. As a team, I think we’re fine; we’re fine with Riley coming back today," said linebacker DeMeco Ryans, after Cooper returned to practice for the first time since his leave last Friday, following the racial slur caught on tape went public on Wednesday.
PHOTOS:
"That thing’s over. We’re a team," said Eagles safety Patrick Chung—ironically, a former Patriot who signed with the Eagles in the offseason. "We’re not letting any of this get to us." Was Cooper forgiven in the locker room? "Absolutely," he said.
Cooper apologized again for his actions and said that since leaving the team, he had spoken "face to face" with the remaining Eagles with whom he had not talked since his first meeting with the team Wednesday. He said that during his time away he went to "seek help," but did not elaborate.
"I talked to everyone individually," Cooper said, "and I told them I don’t want you to forgive me, because that puts the burden on you. I want it all on me. And I told them I apologize. And they can tell it’s from the heart. They know I’m not that kind of person. It feels good to have support from the guys."
When asked if it was unanimous support—even from players who publicly have expressed anger or disappointment, like running back LeSean McCoy—Cooper said,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], "Absolutely."
"I want to make this clear; the words Riley Cooper used were totally unacceptable," the Eagles said in a statement. "His words may have been directed at one person but they hurt everyone. Riley has apologized to the team and community and has made a personal commitment to work hard to try and gain their trust and earn his position on the team."
No New England DBs did anything extracurricular to Cooper during the workout,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and Cooper said nobody said anything out of line.
Cooper called head coach Chip Kelly on Monday night to tell him he wanted to come back, and they spoke that night as well as Tuesday morning before he rejoined the team. Kelly stressed that Cooper was free to return when he was ready, and that his absence "was not a suspension" with conditions he had to meet for reinstatement.
But Kelly said he had a bigger-picture view of what he wanted to see from Cooper from now on, much bigger than his big catches in the joint workout. "My concern wasn’t how he practiced, it was him with the team itself, and to be sure he had a chance to talk to every single guy, so they understand how he felt,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], what he did, and understand that he’s truly sorry for what he did."
Now Kelly will monitor the pulse of the locker room, and he said he was optimistic about what he’s seen. He singled out Ryans and Avant for their leadership over the last few days. "This isn’t something we just put in the back seat and start moving forward," he said. "We’ll make sure we keep our eyes and ears open to the situation and understand how everybody feels."
The outward signs supported Kelly’s and Cooper’s confidence. Ryans greeted Cooper when he saw him on the field Tuesday—"I just said, 'What’s up,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], man, good to have you back out here'"—and there was not the obvious distance between him and the other players as there had been in last Thursday’s practice, the first after the revelation about the video.
Avant’s touchdown celebration was the most obvious expression of it.
"I know Riley,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Ryans said. "Out of this situation, Riley really felt like an outcast, and we really have to bring him back in as a teammate and as a brother and resolve this issue and move forward. We can’t have any ill feelings linger throughout this season."
Cooper was gratified to see and feel it, but he acknowledged how painful it was to have that talk with every player, and how it won’t all be over in one day.
"It’s tough. It’s gonna be tough. I’m gonna live with this every day for the rest of my life,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," he said.

The post has been approved 0 times