NFL teams have to make tough decisions from time to time. The coaching staff and the GM have to put aside certain aspects of humanity and make business decisions that will improve their team, both for the near future and for the long term. Everyone knows that. Most people don't like that idea, which is one of the reasons most of us will never be coaches or GM's, because we won't be able to make the tough decision and cut a player that has become the fan favorite and to a degree the face of the team. Which brings us to the current situation, where the Washington Redskins cut their Tight End of 8 years, number 47 Chris Cooley.
Most of you know who Cooley is, and what he has meant to this team. He has been the safety valve for many QB's that have put on the Burgandy and Gold uniform. When in trouble, they would simply have to find Cooley and know that he was going to not only catch the ball, but make a play, getting a first down or moving down the field. He was also a very good blocker when asked to block, either in passing or running situations. Beyond his abilities on the field, he had a great personality. He was a fan favorite, a fun loving, sometimes wacky person, who had the nickname of Captain Chaos. I never had the chance to meet him myself, but from what I heard of him and from those that had met him, he was a great person and very friendly.
The news of him being cut, and his very emotional press conference, was a huge shock to many Redskins fans, myself included. Even though he had been dealing with injuries the past couple of seasons, from all reports, he was in the best shape of his career this year, and looked to return to his probowl level of play. So why cut such a player from the team? Could it have been done differently? Was it the right move for the Redskins, both in the near future and beyond?
To be honest, the majority of us can't answer those questions. We can assume, we can try to put ourselves in the shoes of the Redskins' staff, to see why this happened, but we won't know for sure. From what I've seen and heard, the main reasons were Cooley's salary and his age. The Redskins have a young Fred Davis, who can be one of the best TE's, Logan Paulsen, who is getting better at being a blocking TE, and Niles Paul, who was a receiver last year, but the Redskins converted him to a TE over the offseason. So just by the number of TE's, and their ages, one can see that Cooley might be on the outside, having been in the league more years than Davis, Paulsen, and Paul combined. But the issue here is that you are putting a lot of trust in Davis, who is one substance abuse away from not playing for you, Paulsen, who is more of a blocker than a receaving TE and with only 13 catches and 1 TD, and Paul, who was a WR until this year, and who only had 2 receptions for 25 yards. I for one would rather have a proven veteran on my team, which happens to be starting a rookie QB who will need all the help he can get, and which is also having major offensive line issues.
As for Cooley's price tag, I am certain that if they spoke with him, he would be more than happy to restructure his contract so that he can stay with the Redskins, and retire as a Washington Redskin. He had said so many times himself, he does not want to see himself in another uniform, he wanted to be a Redskins for his entire career. Not only that, he has invested so much of his time and money in this community, that to most of us, he is a fixture of this area.
There is another point that has bothered me ever since I heard of this news. The Redskins are having major problems with their Offensive line, they had trouble protecting RGIII against the 2nd string Colts Defensive line. They are going to have huge problems protecting him against probowl defensive players in the regular season. So it would make sense that they would want every help they can get blocking said linemen and LB's. Yet they let go one of their better blockers, and keep a player like Jamal Brown, who has never been able to stay on the field for the Redskins, who is now on the PUP list, and will most likely not be able to help them at all this year. To me that does not make sense whatsoever. Why keep an injured player, who hasn't done much for you, who most would agree is probably way past his prime, and yet let go of one of the better TE's, both in catching and blocking? I don't know the answer to that, but would sure like to find out.
With all that said, we don't know the truth, and most likely will never know exactly what was said and done to lead up to this point. All we know for sure is that the Redskins think they are better off with Cooley not being on their team. I for one do not agree with that statement at all, but who am I to do or say anything about this. I wish Chris Cooley the best of luck in his career, if he so chooses to continue to play, and the best of luck in whatever he decides to do after he is done playing this wonderful game. You will always be one of my favorite Redskins, and to me you will always be a Washington Redskin.
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