If this IS to be the last of Chris Cooley in the B&G .....

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

And I don't think I'm unduly pre-empting events as everything is sadly pointing that way, from our own 'insiders' and the beat reporters tit-bits through the growing news the past few days of Niles Paul being a part of the TE group as we start the long haul leading to the 2012 season; then it will sadly bring the curtain down on one of the most popular Redskins in this franchises rich history. And a player who, along with Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, has almost single-handedly carried the Washington Redskins on the field through the vast majority of the 2000's.

Back around this time in 2004, amidst all the euphoria of Coach Gibbs return, we entered the draft with a paltry 4 picks after pre-draft trades to strengthen a shockingly poor roster. With only one pick in the top four rounds. Now growing up through Coach' first go-around, the one thing I was sure we were going to address was the TE's. He'd inherited a woeful bunch of the likes of Zeron Flemister and Robert Royal. And when he was here through the glory days, the single back, two TE set was a staple. Donnie Warren the bruising blocker, Clint Didier the more refined receiving threat. I won't lie, with our fifth overall pick back in '04, I badly wanted us to take Miami's Kellen Winslow II. (How wrong I got that one.). Although taking his teammate, some dude called Taylor (God rest), was a nice compensation. When the Patriots took the other TE I'd eyed, Benjamin Watson, late in the first, I was resigned to making do at the position with what we had.

Then, out of nowhere, we traded back up into the 3rd round (a pick we'd lost acquiring Scott Brunnell); and gave up a 2005 2nd rounder along with moving down in the 5th by swapping picks in that round with the Saints. All for some kid out of Utah State, who, whilst being a decent receiving threat, I thought was a bit of a reach for what we'd given up. (Again, how I got that one wrong.). This set me madly scrambling for as much info as I could garner on this kid Cooley above the little I knew ..... 40- 0 record as a HS wrestler- Hmmm, one tough SOB then ..... Bill Parcells, the Cowboys HC of the time, told him in pre-draft interviews he'd never be more than a 'spot' player- WOOOOO, up went the defenses! If one of THEM is saying that about one of OURS, before he's even been drafted, then this is a kid I'ma get RIGHT behind!

And so the Cooley love affair was born in this long standing Redskin fan.

On the field, the stats speak for themselves:

Over the past 8 seasons, through 100 starts out of a possible 128 regular season games-
428 Receptions. (A Redskins record for a TE, beating the great Jerry Smith who played in 42 more games over 5 more seasons, with the great Sonny J throwing him the rock the majority of that time.).
4,703 Receiving Yards. (Only 793 yards shy of Smith's Redskins record.).
11 Yards Average Per Gain, with a long of 66 for a TD.
33 Touchdowns. (With 3 two point conversion receptions for good measure.).
48 Receptions over 20 Yards.
2 Receptions over 40 Yards.
249 1st Downs.
11 Fumbles, with 4 Lost.

Through those 8 years, not only has Chris been the best playmaking TE in Redskins history bar Smith, and one of our major offensive weapons, he's also stood parallel amongst the very best in the entire NFL.

Discounting his rookie year, and his injury hit '09 and '11 seasons, he's had 4 full seasons ('05. '06, '07, '08); and the 2010 season when he missed one game.

79 of 80 games over those 5 seasons, through which his numbers were thus:

354 Rec/ 3,992 Yds/ 11.3 Yrd Av Gn/ Long 66 TD/ 25 TD/ 44 Rec 20+ Yds/ 2 Rec 40+ Yds/ 206 1st Downs/ 10 Fumbles- 4 Lost.

Compare that to the three TE's with better stats than him his career, two sure fire Hall of Famer's Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, and his great NFC East rival Jason Witten.

Gates, the undrafted phenom out of Kent State who's had Phillip Rivers supplying him:

79 of 80 games (I've taken his 2009 season in place of 2010 as he missed 6 games in 2010):

374 Rec/ 4,870 Yds/ 13 Yrd Av Gn/ Long 57 TD/ 44 TD/ 7 Rec 20+ Yds/ 3 Rec 40+ Yds/ 265 1st Downs/ 2 Fumbles- 1 Lost.

Gonzalez, 13th overall pick and arguably the greatest TE of all time:

79 of 80 games.

416 Rec/ 4,691 Yds/ 11.3 Yrd Av Gn/ Long 57/ 28 TD/ 47 Rec 20+ Yds/ 1 Rec 40+ Yds/ 264 1st Downs/ 1 Fumble- Recovered.

Witten, who's had the luxury of Romo and Dallas' pass happy offense and better players over the duration:

79 of 80 games.

401 Rec/ 4,610 Yds/ 11. 5 Yrd Av Gn/ Long 53/ 27 TD/ 56 Rec 20+ Yds/ 4 Rec 40+ Yds/ 232 1st Downs/ 2 Fumbles- 2 Lost.

Cooley certainly stands comparison with the very best in the game, and you could well argue would match the other threes numbers given their individual situations. Not least Gates and Wittens QB's, as opposed to the absolute definitions of mediocrity and worse he's had throwing him the rock.

But Chris Cooley has meant so much more to the fanbase and community than what he's done on the field for our team. He's one of the most personable, approachable players in living memory. A regular, blue collar guy who just happens to of been blessed with athletic talent. He absolutely adores the area, and openly admits he can never see himself being based anywhere else. He's the only person I've ever taken the time to sign up and follow on a blog. 'The Cooley Zone' was a riot, and showed just how humble and normal the guy is. From the hilarious faux pas of splashing his junk over the internet, through videos at his potters wheel; a day by day video diary of a cross Country return to Wyoming, which could of been any average American couple; through all points inbetween; his blog has been one of the most entertaining, non conceited pieces out there from a guy in his position. And he loves, that's LOVES, the Washington Redskins. He knows our history, and will readily talk about it to anyone that will listen. And he still only wants to play his ball here.

Not bad for a kid out of Powell, Wyoming, who grew up a Bronco's fan in Logan, Utah.

If this is to sadly be the end, which as much as I'm rooting for ya' Chris all signs are pointing to it being sometime in the coming weeks; thank you so much for all the memory's, and for everything you've done and meant for my team.

The best honor I can give you Captain Chaos is that, more than any other player in recent memory, I'm MORE than happy to class you as one of our own.

As the greatest of all Redskins used to like to say, from day one you've been a core Redskin.

Hail.

[Koolblue13]

I'll miss the hell out of the guy, but yeah, the time has come. Always a Redskin in my eyes and one of the few bright spots from the Gibbs II era.

Good luck with everything CC. I hope I'm proven wrong, he adjusts his salary and makes the team as a starter.

[Skinz4Life12]

what am i missing? are there reports that he will be traded or is this just based off speculation?

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

what am i missing? are there reports that he will be traded or is this just based off speculation?

That it's sadly looking like he won't be back, period.

A combination of age, health and salary weighed up against that. The signs aren't good coming out of the Park.

Hail.

[khaozerker]

We cant cut or trade our emergency punter!

[HailGreen28]

all good things.....

Hope Cooley's set himself up well, with his shop and all, even better gets one last big paycheck with another team. As a player he's represented us well on/off field. He'll be missed whenever he does go.

[SonnyandSam]

I'm not writing off Cooley just yet because a couple of our insiders have been hinting around. Cooley has to prove he is over his knee injury and can play at a high level. He may get his salary restructured; or maybe even have to take a pay cut. The Niles Paul experiment can be just as much protection for Fred Davis smoking the wacky weed again and getting a one year suspension. Between Davis' suspension risk and Cooley's knee, we are at risk at the TE position. So I can understand the experiment. Doesn't necessarily mean Cooley is gone.

[Gart Monk]

Does CC get a spot on the Redskins Ring of Honor?

[DieselPwr44]

Alot of speculation going on here and that includes the Twitter Gang too..........

[USS Redskins]

Pretty sure that cap punishment sunk CC... Plus the team has been w/o his services for much of the last two years.... Hate to lose him...

[nimblehippo]

They'll surely see what condition he is in first - he hasn't been healthy in a while - if healthy, cooley is a baller. 2 TE sets with Davis, Cooley, Garcon and Morgan/Moss to cover would not be fun for opposition teams! It seems PAul is like Alexander, a guy coaches like, but who doesn't make the team for his play at one position. Being able to have a WR/TE helps provide more cover for both positions and gives us more options.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Does CC get a spot on the Redskins Ring of Honor?

Without question he should for me.

Not only is he one of our greatest ever TE's, who's carried some pretty darn poor Redskins teams; but given the situations of the three I noted in the OP his numbers would be right up there with the very best IMHO.

Hail.

[SWFLSkins]

It would be a sad way to end, but when you think about a new QB coming in and the emergence of Davis and now maybe Paul I see how this could be possible. Do you want to start to build continuity with a player that most likely has one to two years of play left? By the way nice thread and write up GHH.

---------- Post added April-21st-2012 at 10:40 AM ----------

Without question he should for me.

Not only is he one of our greatest ever TE's, who's carried some pretty darn poor Redskins teams; but given the situations of the three I noted in the OP his numbers would be right up there with the very best IMHO.

Hail.

Agreed without a doubt.

[Koolblue13]

At any time in our storied franchise Chris Cooley is a great fit and teammate, so I think he is absolutely a Ring of Honor.

[The Slamming Butcher]

Personally, I'm holding out hope that he's healthy and he stays. He has repeatedly stated that he doesn't want to play anywhere else. I think he'd be one of the first guys to volunteer to restructure in order to remain a Redskin. Plus, I'd love for him to be here for the renaissance that we are all expecting...dude deserves it.