Eagles waive Riley Cooper

IT SEEMED likely to happen at some point this offseason, regardless, given Riley Cooper's lack of production relative to his salary-cap charge, but it happened Monday, the first day of the 2016 waiver period. That didn't feel like a coincidence.

The Eagles, continuing their efforts to change course in the wake of dismissing head coach Chip Kelly, released Cooper, who would have counted $5.3 million against their cap in 2016. They incur a $2.4 million charge by cutting ties, so they gain $2.9 million in cap room.

Cooper, 28, was the most visible symbol of what came to be viewed as a major Kelly failing - the coach didn't seem to care enough about how his actions might be perceived in the locker room, and particularly wasn't sensitive enough around racial fault lines.

Cooper was a fifth-round draft pick in 2010, a 6-4, 230-pound wide receiver from Florida who began his Eagles career as a special-teams stalwart. Kelly's offense, which prioritizes blocking by the wideouts, was a good fit for Cooper, and when starting wideout Jeremy Maclin went down for the season in the first full-squad workout of Kelly's first training camp, Cooper clearly became a more important cog.

But before the first preseason game, a videotape surfaced of Cooper at a Kenny Chesney concert the month before camp started. He was filmed using the "N-word" in an argument with a security guard. When the video surfaced, Kelly initially got high marks for his handling of it - Kelly and Cooper addressed reporters right away, Kelly making sure Cooper expressed anguish and contrition.

Then came the misstep. Kelly sent Cooper away from the team to reflect and get counseling, but the period of introspection turned out to be basically a weekend spent back home with Cooper's parents in Florida.

Kelly secured the backing of then-offensive leaders Michael Vick and Jason Avant to bring back Cooper, but they did not speak for the entire team, or the fan base. A lot of people would have preferred Cooper not suit up again for the Eagles.

But he did suit up, and Cooper more than doubled his previous career high with 47 catches in 2013, for 835 yards and eight touchdowns. The Eagles gave Cooper a four-year, $22.5 million contract extension the following offseason, while releasing wideout DeSean Jackson, an outspoken African-American star.

Last August, Kelly acknowledged the Cooper fallout could have helped create a negative perception of him, though he also said that was something he couldn't waste time worrying about.

"I hope not," Cooper said then, when asked if he thought the handling of his situation was the origin of Kelly's image problem.

Like most of the Eagles' offense, Cooper fell off dramatically in 2015, after spending 2014 not doing much to justify the new contract. He finished last season with just 21 catches for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while playing just 49 percent of the Eagles' snaps, down from 81 percent in 2014 and 89 percent in 2013.

The Eagles now enter the 2016 offseason with a very young wide receiving corps, led by Jordan Matthews, heading into his third season. Josh Huff, a 2013 third-round pick, is the other "veteran," of a group that includes Jonathan Krause, 2015 first-round rookie Nelson Agholor, and 2015 practice squad member Freddie Martino. A free-agency addition or two seems likely. Maybe somebody who can be of more help this time than Miles Austin was last year, fans hope.

bowenl@phillynews.com

On Twitter: @LesBowen

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