amari cooper
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Las Vegas Raiders WR Amari Cooper.
After seven seasons since they traded him away, the Las Vegas Raiders have reunited with wide receiver Amari Cooper. The former first-round pick has played for three different teams since he was with the Raiders, but now he gets a chance to play where his career started.
However, the franchise is in a very different spot than it was in 2018. Pete Carroll has taken over as head coach, John Spytek is general manager and left tackle Kolton Miller is the only player who is still on the roster from that 2018 team.
Following his contract signing, Cooper shared his thoughts on Carroll and some of the other Raiders players.
“I can tell he’s a player’s coach, an old-school coach,” Cooper said of Carroll, via Raiders.com. “Obviously has a career history of winning. … I’ve always been a fan of Geno’s [Smith] game. I used to watch him a lot when he was in college. Maxx [Crosby], everybody talks about how amazing of a player he is.”
Cooper may have been away from the franchise for a long time, but he believes the franchise is still the same and is excited about that.
“It’s still the Raiders,” Cooper said on Tuesday. “It’s nice. It’s a good feeling, a full-circle moment. I’m excited about the opportunity, and I’m ready to embrace it.”
Cooper Says He’s Got ‘Juice Left’
There was a time when Cooper was considered one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. He has been named to the Pro Bowl five times and has broken 1,000 receiving yards in six seasons. However, he’s coming off the worst season of his career.
He had just 547 yards in 14 games, but was dealing with a wrist injury for much of the year. For his part, he’s not concerned and is eager to prove the doubters wrong.
“Trust me, I still have some juice left,” Cooper said. “I felt like this was the opportunity for me to show it.”
Cooper Talks ‘Unfinished Business’
Cooper is only 31, so he shouldn’t be totally out of his athletic prime. He had 1,250 receiving yards as recently as 2023. He also missed two games that season.
Cooper’s time with the Raiders didn’t end well. They traded him because they saw a decline in his production. There was some bad blood in the past, but they’re all good now.
Cooper is hoping to finish what he started with the team.
“I always kind of had it in the back of my mind because when I was drafted here, I felt the expectations were high,” Cooper said. “I felt like I did OK, but I always knew why I was drafted. You pick a guy in the top five, you expect him to really help change the organization and I felt like at times I showed flashes of doing that, but it wasn’t to my expectations. This time around, I feel like I have unfinished business. I’m excited about it.”
Cooper doesn’t need to be an All-Pro to have a positive impact on the Raiders. He just needs to be productive and available.