BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Former Alabama superstar wide receiver Amari Cooper is set to retire from the NFL, according to multiple reports Thursday.
Per Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo of the NFL’s ‘The Insiders’, Cooper informed the Las Vegas Raiders, who he just signed with last week, of his intentions to retire and that he “no longer has the desire to play football.”
For many, Cooper became a known superstar during his time in Tuscaloosa with the Crimson Tide.
The Miami native came to the Tide in 2012 where he immediately made his presence known, playing in 14 games and starting in 9 of them, and breaking multiple records on the way to helping lead the Tide to the 2013 BCS national championship title.
Cooper finished the year with 1,000 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns, and five 100+ yard games in just his freshman season.
A small injury held Cooper back just a tiny bit his sophomore season, even though he still finished the year with 45 receptions and over 700 receiving yards before he burst back onto the scene in 2014.
In his junior season, Cooper hauled in 124 receptions, an SEC record, and set multiple Crimson Tide program records. In his third and final year in T-town, he finished the year with nearly 2,000 receiving yards (1,727 total) 16 touchdowns. Cooper also had two 200+ yard receiving games after he finished with 224 yards twice, doing so against Tennessee and Auburn. He became a Heisman finalist, won the Biletnikoff Award (given to the nation’s top wide receiver), and was named a unanimous all-American.
In just three seasons, Cooper became one of the Tide’s all-time greats and finished his career with 228 receptions, 3,463 receiving yards, and 31 receiving touchdowns.
Cooper was originally drafted by the Raiders out of Alabama in 2015 and immediately made his mark in the league, hauling in over 70 catches for over 1,000 yards and 6 touchdowns as a rookie.
Cooper spent three and a half seasons with the Raiders before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, who he spent four years with before finishing out his career with the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills.
In total, Cooper had seven 1,000 yards in his career and amassed over 10,000 total receiving yards and 64 touchdowns in his 10 seasons in the league.
Cooper signed with the Raiders last week, Aug. 26, and was set to play again for the team who drafted him before announcing his retirement.
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