Why Did Amari Cooper Retire Just Days After Signing With The Raiders?

Last month, wide receiver Amari Cooper signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on a one-year contract, returning to the team that drafted him a decade ago.

According to NFL Insider reports, the 10-season and five-time Pro Bowl veteran agreed to a $3.5 million deal with the Raiders. The contract includes $500,00 in per-game roster bonuses and $2 million in additional incentives.

The signing reunites Cooper with the franchise, formerly based in Oakland, which picked him fourth overall in the 2015 draft.

Cooper spent over three seasons with the Raiders before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. He later played for the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills, with 154 games and 10,033 receiving yards in his entire career.

For the first half of last season, Cooper played for the Browns, totaling six games and 24 receptions. Cooper then played for the Bills, playing only eight games in the second half of the season and had a career low of only 20 receptions.

The news of Cooper’s signing came shortly after reports of the Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers requesting a trade out due to stalled contract negotiations. Cooper is an experienced target for quarterback Geno Smith as the Raiders continue to move around their roster.

In this year’s draft, the Raiders prioritized bringing in new receivers, including TCU’s Jack Bech and Tennessee’s Dont’e Thornton in the fourth round. Thornton proved a good choice in training camp and was listed on the Raiders’ first team alongside veterans Meyers and Tre Tucker.

But just a week after signing with the Raiders, Cooper told the team he’d be retiring from the NFL. “It’s unfortunate because I think he’s a heck of a football player,” Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “But he knows in his heart what he wants to do, so I wish him the best.”