Amari Cooper makes shocking retirement move 10 days after signing with Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders reunited with their former draft pick last week by signing veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper at the end of training camp to end his free agency.

The reunion didn’t last long. The five-time Pro Bowler announced his retirement Thursday. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport broke the news in a post on X:

"Comeback no more: #Raiders WR Amari Cooper has informed the team that he no longer has the desire to play and intends to retire, per The Insiders. Cooper had signed at the end of camp in a hopeful reunion with the team that drafted him. Now, he’s headed home from Las Vegas."

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Cooper was entering his 11th season after signing a one-year, $6 million deal with the Raiders, who selected him in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team that year and earned consecutive Pro Bowl nods before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in October 2018.

The Raiders listed Cooper as a backup on their depth chart released Tuesday, behind Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker and Dont’e Thornton Jr. Cooper was expected to rotate with Thornton, with the Raiders high on the 22-year-old rookie.

Pete Caroll expected Amari Cooper to mentor young players at the Raiders

Raiders coach Pete Caroll addressed the signing of Amari Cooper last Thursday. The veteran coach didn’t disclose his role on the depth chart but said Cooper was expected to help younger players develop.

“We thought a chance to add a guy like [Cooper], with experience, really to help our young guys, might really suit us well,” Carroll said. “And so, for Dont’e [Thornton] on the outside, they’ll be doing a lot of the same stuff. I think Amari’s way can affect him and help him come along.

"There’s a lot of pressure for him to be the only X over there that we’re kind of going with, so I think this really balances us out well. And I hope it really suits Jack [Bech] and Dont’e.”

It remains to be seen how the Raiders will react to Cooper’s retirement with the new season just hours away.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Raiders Nation! Check out the latest Las Vegas Raiders Schedule and dive into the Raiders Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash