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Jonathan Cooper Waived By Cleveland Browns: 7th Overall Pick In 2013 NFL Draft Dropped By Three Teams, Three Years

By Glenn Hadley
Published on: 01:46 PST, Dec 28, 2016

NFL player Jonathan Cooper has been waived by the Cleveland Browns.

Cooper first joined the Cleveland Browns before Week 6 after he was waived by the New England Patriots. The 26-year-old offensive lineman appeared in a total of five games for the Browns. He was featured in the starting right guard position for the last three of those five games.

According to the team website, offensive lineman Alvin Bailey is returning to the active roster after being suspended for two games earlier this month due to violating the NFL substance abuse policy. Bailey’s roster exemption reportedly expires Wednesday.

As mentioned above,this was unfortunately not the first time that Jonathan Cooper has been waived by an NFL team. The North Carolina native has actually been traded once and waived twice – playing for three different teams so far in his three-year career as a professional football player.

The Arizona Cardinals more than likely had high hopes for Cooper when they selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Jonathan signed a four-year contract worth $14.55 million in July of 2013.

Based on his NFL combine profile, Cooper received an overall grade of 86.9 – including his top performance with the bench press. In addition to being voted the player of the year by his high school conference – a rare accomplishment for senior offensive linemen – Cooper’s team worth the Class 4-A state title.

“Cooper, an extremely athletic left guard, racked up a number of all-conference awards during his four years starting… He has the athleticism to play in a number of different schemes. Due to his ability to lead the way on runs and outstanding pass protection skills, he projects to be one of the first guards selected in the draft.”

Along with his strengths, though, there were several weaknesses highlighted in his combine profile that would apparently speak volumes about his career.

“Functional strength is only adequate; stronger tackles get a bit of push against him in pass protection. Will have occasional missed assignments in pass protection.”

Even though the bottom line of his analysis acknowledged his improved functional strength during his senior season, it also addressed the need for him to “continue adding bulk and strength.”

Fast forward to August 24, 2013 – nearly one month after Jonathan Cooper signed his multi-million dollar contract. In the Cardinals’ third game of the preseason against the San Diego Chargers, Jonathan broke his left fibula – ending up on the IR list six days later.

The Cardinals traded Cooper along with a second-round draft pick this past March to the New England Patriots in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones.

During a June 2016 interview with Sirius XM NFL radio, Jonathan Cooper opened up to hosts Alex Marvez and Kirk Morrison about the aftermath of his rookie season leg injury – including the mental challenge of trying to overcome that injury.

He stated that “you get a whole different mindset” when you are working hard, staying healthy, and “playing the best ball you can.”

“When it goes beyond the field, and when it comes to that mental stuff, that’s when it gets more difficult… Honestly, it’s more of a mental thing than anything else. I feel like the biggest thing is the actual fresh start with a new organization and being able… to rewrite my history and be a better player than I was before.”

At the start of his season with the Patriots, Cooper was bumped from the starting line to a backup position. The New England Patriots later waived him in early October.

Two days later, Jonathan Cooper started what would become a two-month journey with Cleveland Browns.

[Featured Image by AP Images]

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