Riley Cooper, Cary Williams Apparently 'Cool' After Fight Earlier Today [UPDATE]

Thursday afternoon news quickly spread that Riley Cooper and Cary Williams got into a fight during Eagles practice and needed to be separated, by among others, Michael Vick. Williams, a cornerback, previously expressed issues with Riley Cooper’s use of the N-word at a Kenny Chesney concert, which went public at the start of camp.

In the immediate wake of the incident, most people jumped to the conclusion the fight was connected to Cooper’s off-field N-word controversy. Williams told the media to stay away and that he wouldn’t talk about the fight, fanning that speculation.

Cary Williams in locker room: "Don't even come by here. I'm not talking at all. At all."
— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) September 5, 2013

Cooper said it was simply a typical training camp dust-up and had nothing to do with his off-field issues. Cooper said things were ‘cool’ between he and Williams, as reported by CSN’s Geoff Mosher.

Cooper said the incident had nothing to do with his offseason issue, said Williams never mentioned that. Says nobody on other teams have.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) September 5, 2013

Cooper said its cool between he and Cary. Said it was over seconds after. Cary said "good route" later after a different play.
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) September 5, 2013

Here are some Michael Vick quotes via CSN Philly’s Reuben Frank that shed a little more light on the incident:

"Cary’s a guy who’s very animated, who’s very angry sometimes, and that’s just how he is. We know him, but we love him to death, we embrace him, we accept him. It was early, it was real early to be doing a 1-on-1 competitive period when practice just started, so both of those guys probably had a chip on their shoulder, and they’ve been going back and forth all summer, so it was bound to happen. I just don’t want those guys getting into those type of interactions as of right now. There are a lot of things that we’ve got to focus on, and they’ve got to understand the big picture.”"

So there you have it. Expect Cooper’s every move to remain under the microscope for most of the season … or at least until the next NFL controversy emerges.

[UPDATE: A few more details have emerged. Here’s an update from the Philly.com

"Williams used a racial slur during the incident, according to an Eagle that was near the altercation. According to the player, Williams said to Cooper more than once, “I’m not a n- you [mess] with.”"

Perhaps things aren’t as cool previously thought.]

[Photo via USA Today Sports Images]