One of the key contributors from 2024 that the Bills lost to free agency was veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper was acquired by the Bills at the trade deadline, playing in eight games with four starts for Buffalo. Cooper hauled in 20 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns for the Bills.
The Bills have acquired Joshua Palmer and Lavish Shenault Jr. in Cooper's absence, meaning a reunion in Buffalo is unlikely. However, a reunion elsewhere could be in play for Cooper.
The Score's Daniel Valente and Brenden Deeg predicted the best fits for the top remaining NFL free agents, and they predicted Cooper will return to the franchise where his career started; the Las Vegas Raiders.
"After acquiring Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks, the Raiders appear set on competing for a playoff spot in 2025," Valente and Deeg wrote. "A Cooper homecoming will help an offense that lacks playmakers outside Brock Bowers."
While it would be tough to call it a "homecoming," per say, as when Cooper was with the Raiders they were stationed in Oakland, but a reunion could be in play.
The Raiders drafted Cooper with the 4th overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Cooper was named to three Pro Bowls as a Raider, including in his rookie season. Cooper was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in October 2018 in exchange for a 1st round pick.
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Cooper's 3,183 receiving yards is the 15th-highest mark in Raiders history. His 19 touchdowns are tied with Mervyn Fernandez for the 17th-most in franchise history, and his 61.2 yards per game is the seventh-highest rate, just edging out Jerry Rice.
After Cooper's four-year Cowboys career, he moved on to the Cleveland Browns before being sent to Buffalo. Buffalo is the only stop of Cooper's career that he was not named to a Pro Bowl.
Cooper didn't get a ton of field time as the season progressed, or in the playoffs. Cooper started just one of Buffalo's three postseason games, and received just eight targets. He caught six of them for 41 yards, but failed to record a touchdown.
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This story was originally published March 28, 2025 at 5:51 AM.