Conflicting Reports On If Eagles Favor Riley Cooper or Jeremy Maclin

As the new NFL league year, which starts on March 11, draws closer, so does the accompanying madness surrounding free agency.

Last week, a report from Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer stated that the Eagles favor keeping Jeremy Maclin over Riley Cooper. The report stated the Eagles plan to sign Maclin to a one-year contract and sign another starting wide receiver in free agency. It also confirmed the Eagles still have interest in bringing Riley Cooper back, but a Maclin deal would take precedence.

Now, a report from ProFootballTalk is stating the exact opposite.

As mentioned on Tuesday’s Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, Cooper is the higher priority than Maclin.  Indeed, it’s our understanding that it’s not even close.

Well, that's interesting. It should be noted PFT is also the outlet that recently reported that Cooper will be in high demand once free agency starts. I won't claim to know who PFT's sources are, but if you connect the dots here... it's at least possible this report could be coming from Cooper's camp. And the "it's not even close" line is surely curious.

It's feasible the Eagles could keep both Maclin and Cooper if they so wish. They have ample cap space. It's only a matter of interest. Who are the Eagles willing to pay? Answers will come soon enough, but in the meantime, Eagles GM Howie Roseman wasn't joking around when he called the Eagles wide receiver dilemma "complicated."