The firing of former head coach Chip Kelly is just the start of change for the Philadelphia Eagles, who announced Monday that they parted ways with wide receiver Riley Cooper after six seasons.
Cooper was the Eagles' fifth-round pick (159th overall) in the 2010 National Football League (NFL) Draft and earlier in his stint with the team was involved in two major issues.
But following those, Cooper started to thrive in the 2013 season, which was Kelly's first year as the head coach of the Eagles.
The 2013 season was the best year for Cooper as he had 47 receptions for career-highs 835 yards and eight touchdowns.
Along with tallying his best numbers, the 28-year-old also received the starting nod during that season, starting in 15-of-16 regular season games.
According to a report by ESPN, Kelly decided to make Cooper a starter since that season because of his blocking ability.
Following the 2013 season, Cooper was rewarded by the Eagles because of his splendid performance, signing him to a five-year contract worth $22.5 million, with a $4 million signing bonus.
The former Florida Gator kept the starting job in the next two seasons (2014, 2015), but his role diminished each year.
In the 2015 season, Cooper only had 21 catches for 327 yards and two touchdowns, very far from the numbers he put up when he was a key offensive piece in the 2013 season.
Philadelphia ended up missing the playoffs two seasons in a row, finishing second in the National Football Conference (NFC) East with a 7–9 record.
This led to Kelly getting sacked and a few weeks later, one of the wide receivers who were successful in his system, Cooper, was the next one to leave.
Changes are starting for the Eagles who already have Doug Pederson return to the organization as the new head coach as the team aims to end a two-year postseason drought.
