NFL Notes: Riley Cooper, Falcons, Jets

Riley Cooper

The Buccaneers are not expected to sign veteran free agent WR Riley Cooper after his three-day tryout with the team, but HC Dirk Koetter recently told reporters that Cooper stood out during their recent minicamp for the simple fact that it showed he has played in the NFL.

“Well, you could tell that he’s played,” Koetter said, via Buccaneers.com. “You can tell that he’s played in the NFL and he’s played for a while. These guys — obviously when you bring guys from a whole bunch of colleges and they’re a little bit nervous, and they’re learning a new system, I mean, he’s played football in the NFL. That stands out for sure.”

Cooper mentioned that he’s just trying to make the most of the opportunity.

“It’s a great opportunity and I’m sure excited about it and I’m trying to make the best of it,” Cooper said. “Go out there, try to make some plays, run around and kind of spread my knowledge to maybe some of the younger guys if I can be of any help. I’m a hometown Tampa boy, so it’s cool to be back.

“I just kept grinding and grinding and the opportunity is finally here and you’ve got to make the best of it. There’s a lot of guys. There’s 90 guys fighting for 53 spots and we will see how it goes. But, I’m really excited and all of the wideouts in the room that I’ve met so far are really good dudes.”

Falcons

• Vaughn McClure writes that the Falcons are expected move quickly to sign their 2017 draft class to contracts next week.
• McClure mentions that Atlanta has already informed agents that they intend to sign all of their picks by the start of rookie minicamp Friday.

Jets

• According to Rich Cimini, the Jets scheduled free agent visits with QBs Josh McCown and Jay Cutler in mid-March with McCown getting the meeting.
• Cutler was set to travel to New York a few days later, but he couldn’t make the trip due to a family issue.
• The Jets ultimately signed McCown and never rescheduled a meeting with Cutler.
• Cimini mentions that Cutler ultimately wasn’t enthused about the idea of playing for the Jets.
• In regards to veteran WR Eric Decker, Cimini says he would be surprised to see the Jets cut him once he’s finished rehabbing from hip and shoulder surgeries.
• Cimini adds that the Jets expect rookie WRs ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen to push for playing time this summer.
• Jets DL Sheldon Richardson has been participating in voluntary workouts and isn’t allowing the trade rumors to affect him, per Cimini.