It seems like a joke has gone a little too far in Philadelphia.
Riley Cooper, who signed a five-year, $22 million contract before the season began, has not been on the field as much this season, and when asked for a reason, he decided to make a quip about teammate Jeremy Maclin.
"Maclin's trying to get a contract so he's probably not going to try and come out of the game," Cooper told The Philadelphia Inquirer, via CBS.
Needless to say, Maclin, who is setting himself up for a lucrative deal atop the wide receiver market this offseason, was not excited about that. Being on the wrong end of a locker room game of telephone is never fun.
"That was not a very smart thing for Coop to say," Maclin said in response, adding that Cooper's theory is not true.
Cooper went on to ease the tension with some self-deprecating humor, or perhaps a truly honest assessment of what is happening to Philadelphia's receiving corps (Cooper is playing roughly 75 percent of the team's snaps over the past five games, down from 90).
"I'm supposed to sub every four, five plays and that's what I do," he said. "Maclin, I guess, is a lot better player than me, so he doesn't have to."
Maclin didn't enjoy his financial situation being brought up because players rarely like to make it a topic of conversation unless it's the finalization of a market-setting deal. As a premier player on a one-year deal, Maclin wants any sort of distractions around him to be eliminated. Cooper knows this.
Though it seems like a non-story that will be quickly swept under the rug, it will be interesting to keep tracking Cooper's snap counts. Maybe they'll keep going down because he already enjoys the security of a five-year deal.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews Thanksgiving Thursday's three games and recaps Monday night's Week 12 doubleheader. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
