NEW ORLEANS – As the Philadelphia Eagles were preparing for the Super Bowl LIX, Cooper Dejean was with a bunch of teammates taking part in a Philadelphia 76ers game against the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James warmed up and waved a few Eagles players, including AJ Brown and Devonta Smith.
Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper Dejan was with them. James bypassed the rookie and said he either didn’t know him or had a previous relationship with him. What made Dejan embarrassed about the situation was the way he tried to reach James when he bypassed him.
James picked up Patrick Mahomes and scored a Super Bowl LIX touchdown against the Kansas City chief, so you probably know who Dejan is now. Dejean opened the game with an intercepted return for a touchdown, with the Eagles increasing three scores in a 40-22 victory over the Chiefs.
Was there any responsiveness to LeBron for ignoring Dejan? Even after Dejan scored a touchdown on the biggest stage of the sport, the rookie didn’t seem to be bothered.
“That’s pretty cool,” Dejan smiled after the match when asked if LeBron would close out him next time. “That’s pretty cool.”
Dejan became the second rookie to have an intercepted return due to a touchdown in Super Bowl history (Reggie Phillips was another of the Chicago Bears in 1985). In addition to that, Dejean became the second player in NFL history, earning a touchdown on his birthday in the championship game (Eagles legend Steve Van Buren was in the other game in 1947. did).
It’s certainly a pretty birthday for Dejan. Pick 6 and Super Bowl Championship.
“That’s crazy,” Dejan said. “To be able to do it with this group of groups, I came from the first day and all of us brought us in and taught us everything they know. That Lombardi. To embrace the trophy of and do it on my birthday and Saquon’s birthday (Saquon Berkley has the same birthday as Dejan) – it’s pretty crazy.”
