Eagles’ Cooper returns to practice
PHILADELPHIA — Wide receiver Riley Cooper returned to the Philadelphia Eagles Tuesday after a four-day excused absence to undergo sensitivity training after he was caught on film yelling a racial slur before a Kenny Chesney concert.
Cooper, in his fourth year out of the University of Florida, seemed remorseful during an eightminute news conference with the media after the Eagles and New England Patriots began what will be a three- day practice routine before Friday night’s preseason opener.
“It’s great to be back doing what I love to do, play football,” Cooper said. “I realize being in the NFL you have responsibility to behave on and off the field. I realize that.”
“I realize how many people I hurt, how many families I hurt, how many kids I hurt. It’s going to be tough. I’m going to live with this every day the rest of my life. It’s one of those things you can’t let affect your play on the field.”
Last Friday, Eagles coach Chip Kelly announced that Cooper was given time off to seek counseling. Kelly did not put a timetable on his return. Four days later, he was back at practice and caught two touchdown passes against the Patriots’ defense.
“My concern wasn’t how he practiced,” Kelly said after practice. “It’s just him with the team itself and to get the chance to make sure he got to talk to every single guy so that they understood how we felt, what he did, and understand that he’s truly sorry for what he did.”
DEVELOPMENTS
Young confident: Vince Young says the Green Bay Packers are getting a more mature, stronger person. What kind of quarterback the team is getting in the 30-year- old Young remains to be seen.
“That’s the mystery of it, sort of the intrigue,” GM Ted Thompson said Tuesday after Young completed his first practice in a Packers uniform.
The Packers are hoping that Young, out of football last year after being cut by the Buffalo Bills, can pick up the offense quickly enough to make a serious run at the backup job behind Aaron Rodgers.
After five up-and-down years as the Titans’ starter and one year as a backup to Michael Vick with the Eagles, Young says the Packers are getting someone who has experienced both success and failure on the field (31-19 career record as a starter, two Pro Bowl selections, a 74.4 career passer rating) and has grown up off the field while getting married and trying to navigate through financial problems.
If the Packers get a more reliable backup than incumbent No. 2 quarterback Graham Harrell or third-stringer B.J. Coleman, signing Young to a one-year deal will prove well worth the risk.
Jets’ McKnight arrested: New York Jets running back Joe McKnight was arrested last week in New Jersey for outstanding traffic warrants after being stopped by police.
McKnight was pulled over in Hanover Township last Tuesday morning, an off day for players, for changing lanes without signaling according to police. After stopping McKnight, police discovered the two outstanding warrants: one for failure to produce an insurance card in Summit, N.J., while the other was for failure to observe a traffic signal in Springfield. McKnight was then arrested and later posted $320 bail — the amount of the warrants — and released.
Dolphins sign safety: Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones signed a $29.3 million, four-year contract that includes $15 million guaranteed.
Jones, a fifth-round draft choice by Miami in 2010, has started 30 games in his career, including every game in last year. Last year he led the team with four interceptions and ranked fourth in tackles with 95, both career highs.