Just days before the Las Vegas Raiders kick off their 2025 season in New England, veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper has dropped a bombshell: he’s retiring.
The five-time Pro Bowler personally called head coach Pete Carroll this morning to deliver the news. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly confirmed the decision and admitted it caught the staff off guard.
“It’s unfortunate because I think he’s a heck of a football player,” Kelly said. “But he knows in his heart what he wants to do, so I wish him the best.”
The move comes less than two weeks after Cooper signed a one-year deal to rejoin the Silver and Black — the same franchise that drafted him fourth overall back in 2015 when the team was still in Oakland. Cooper, now 31, called the return a “full-circle moment” and insisted he still had “some juice left.”
Clearly, that juice ran out fast.
Raiders Left Scrambling at WR
General manager John Spytek had publicly stated last week that Cooper was expected to play a “big part” in Sunday’s game plan against the Patriots. Carroll also envisioned Cooper lining up on the outside and serving as a mentor for rookies Dont’e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech.
Now? That plan’s out the window.
Las Vegas is left with a thin receivers room: Bech, Thornton, Tre Tucker, and Jakobi Meyers — who, by the way, has his own trade request pending because of contract drama. On the practice squad, the team has Justin Shorter, Shedrick Jackson, and preseason standout Alex Bachman.
Thornton admitted he was still “starstruck” to share a locker room with Cooper, even briefly:
“One of the best receivers to ever do it,” the rookie said.
Cooper’s Legacy in Silver and Black
Cooper’s Raiders career was brief but productive. In 52 games with the team, he hauled in 225 passes for 3,183 yards and 19 touchdowns, topping 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. The Raiders eventually traded him to Dallas during the 2018 season, sparking a journey that took him to Cleveland and then Buffalo before his late return to Vegas.
Last season, Cooper logged 44 catches for 547 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games. He finishes his NFL career with 711 receptions, 10,033 yards, and 64 touchdowns — including seven 1,000-yard seasons and a career-best 1,250 yards in 2023.
What’s Next for the Raiders?
Cooper’s exit leaves the Raiders dangerously thin at wide receiver just as the season kicks off. With Meyers wanting out and rookies still unproven, the front office may be forced to hit the free agent market or swing a trade sooner rather than later.
For now, Raider Nation is left shaking its head. A veteran return that was supposed to stabilize the WR room lasted less than two weeks.
Cooper’s career? No doubt — a strong one. But for the Raiders, this is just another chapter of sudden turns, bad timing, and a roster with more questions than answers heading into Week 1.