Riley Cooper and Nick Foles are likely to be celebrating Eagles touchdowns together for years to come after the team signed the fourth-year receiver to a five-year extension Thursday. (Image courtesy of Fox Sports)
Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office have clearly been burning the candle at both ends in recent days tying up loose ends with their own impending free agents before legal tampering can begin next Friday and the market open on March 11th.
The fruits of that labor has been massive extensions with Jason Peters, Riley Cooper and Jason Kelce. Peters' deal runs through 2018 meaning he will likely retire an Eagle, Cooper is signed through 2019 and Kelce will be the Birds' center through 2020.
However, it is Cooper's deal that has much more significant undertones as to the direction of the offense and the franchise moving forward.
It is very telling that the Eagles struck quickly with Cooper who posted a career best 47 receptions for 835 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013 on a deal that pays him $25 million including $10 million in guarantees.
Viewed through the scope of the fact that Roseman and company made it a top priority to ink Cooper even before locking up Jeremy Maclin or exploring perhaps better all-around receivers in Julian Edelman and Eric Decker in free-agency, this contract should also be looked at as a ringing endorsement for quarterback Nick Foles.
Cooper's spike in production with Foles under center last season was certainly noticeable.
With Foles at quarterback Cooper hauled in 40 of his 47 receptions, 742 of his 847 yards and seven of his eight touchdowns in 2013. The on-field connection forged between these two players who spent the previous season running with the reserves in practice was palpable.
The Eagles very easily could have allowed Cooper to test the open market and set their sights on one of the many high caliber prospects in May's NFL draft or any number of the big-name wideouts in free agency, but clearly saw the value in keeping this quarterback and receiver tandem together.
Maclin's extension talks are certainly more complicated due to his recovery from a torn ACL last summer and questions surrounding how effective he will be upon his return, there is no doubting the impact Foles had on Cooper's season in 2013 and vice-versa.
Not only is this the first offseason that Foles will spend knowing full well that he is the starting quarterback moving forward, but it's also the first time the front office will build the offense around the third-year signal caller.
These early moves are obvious that they are doing just that.
